Project description
A digital brain twin for neuroscience research
'Digital twins' is a term used in industry to describe the development of almost exact replicas of different products for monitoring purposes and add-ons testing. The EU-funded Neurotwin project borrows the concept of digital twins for developing personalised hybrid brain models. Using neuroimaging data from Alzheimer's disease, scientists will build a model that recapitulates the networks and the dynamical landscape of the individual brain. The objective is to employ this model to design and test personalised neuromodulation protocols capable of restoring healthy dynamics. With research at the intersecting frontier of nonlinear dynamics, network theory, biophysics, engineering, neuroscience, clinical research, and ethics, Neurotwin will deliver model-driven breakthroughs in basic and clinical neuroscience, with patients ultimately benefiting from safe, individualised therapy solutions.
Objective
Neuropsychiatric disorders are a leading cause of global disability-adjusted life years, and solutions are lacking. Can digital twins be useful? At least in some cases, we hold they will be central to progress. Recent findings suggest that non-invasive brain stimulation may be a valuable option in conditions such as epilepsy or Alzheimer's (AD). Still, a better understanding of mechanisms and patient-specific factors is needed. Personalized hybrid brain models uniting the physics of electromagnetism with physiology – neurotwins or NeTs – are poised to play a fundamental role in understanding and optimizing the effects of stimulation at the individual level. We ambition to deliver disruptive solutions through model-driven, individualized therapy. We will build a computational framework – weaved and validated across scales and levels of detail– to represent the mechanisms of interaction of electric fields with brain networks and assimilate neuroimaging data. This will allow us to characterize the dynamical landscape of the individual brain and define strategies to restore healthy dynamics. Benefitting from existing databases of healthy and AD individuals, we will deliver the first human and rodent NeTs predicting the effects of stimulation on dynamics. We will then collect detailed multimodal measurements in mice and humans to improve the predictive power of local and whole-brain models under the effects of electrical stimulation, and translate these findings into a technology pipeline for the design of new personalized neuromodulation protocols which we will test in a cohort of AD patients and healthy controls in randomized double-blinded studies. With research at the intersecting frontier of nonlinear dynamics, network theory, biophysics, engineering, neuroscience, clinical research, and ethics, Neurotwin will deliver model-driven breakthroughs in basic and clinical neuroscience, with patients ultimately benefiting from safe, individualized therapy solutions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics electromagnetism
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology epilepsy
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.2. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.2.2. - FET Proactive
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
RIA - Research and Innovation action
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-FETPROACT-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
08035 BARCELONA
Spain
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.