Skip to main content
European Commission logo
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
CORDIS Web 30th anniversary CORDIS Web 30th anniversary
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Adaptive Brain Computations

Article Category

Article available in the following languages:

Understanding how the brain adapts

The ability of organisms to adapt to changes in the environment depends on brain plasticity. A multidisciplinary consortium has investigated the mechanisms behind this phenomenon in order to support brain repair.

Brain plasticity occurs at all levels, from parts of single neurons up to large-scale multi-region networks. Untangling the interactions is a complicated yet necessary prerequisite for development of healthcare interventions that promote well-being and brain repair in case of trauma or disease. Nine European partners joined forces under the auspices of the EU-funded ABC (Adaptive brain computations) project to create a training network for 14 early-career researchers. The initiative's aim was to integrate the study of learning and brain plasticity to promote well-being and advance healthcare interventions. The consortium integrated methodologies and expertise from fields of cellular neurobiology, physiology, pharmacology, brain imaging, behavioural neuroscience and computational modelling. The resulting synergy enabled researchers to better understand plasticity at the cellular, systems and behavioural levels. Computer models were used to complement experimental work by validating experimental results. The results pointed the way to potential neurobiological mechanisms and providing the inspiration for new hypotheses. New set-ups, methodologies and models provided tools not previously available to study a myriad of important topics. These were used to investigate re-learning of sensorimotor mappings, the coupling of blood flow and electrophysiological changes, and even single-neuron excitation with a neurotransmitter modulator in vivo. Scientific findings pointed to mechanisms of modulation and adaptation of single neurons, and the role of certain neurotransmitter systems in plasticity and working memory. Combined behavioural and functional imaging studies in healthy older adults demonstrated their ability to control motor cortex activation using imaging feedback. Training enabled participants to either associate or dissociate activation, a manipulation that induced plasticity of cortical white matter. The work conducted by ABC will help in the development of assistive technology for the education and rehabilitation of individuals who have been impaired by stroke or other sensory deficits. In addition, the work will improve techniques for early diagnosis and lead to better prognosis and effective interventions thanks to a better understanding of brain plasticity. Physicians, patients and the research community will be among those benefiting from ABC research, together with the EU healthcare system.

Keywords

Brain plasticity, healthcare, ABC, neurotransmitter, working memory

Discover other articles in the same domain of application