Prof. Dr. Michael Sendtner is chairman of the Institute for Clinical Neurobiology at the University Hospital of Würzburg.

He is principle investigator of the project SP6: "Dystonia with mutations in Dyt1, Dyt6, GNAL".

He has studied the role of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling in the adult nervous system. BDNF plays a major role in neural network formation, maintenance and plasticity.

His group found that depletion of BDNF from the adult brain results in massive degeneration of striatal neurons, due to deficiency of BDNF from corticostriatal afferents. This also correlates with behavioral alterations such as increased anxiety and motor hyperactivity.