Bridge between brain and behaviour to cure disease
Understanding how the brain works can help medical science diagnose and treat a variety of diseases and conditions from ageing to depression. Neuroimaging holds much promise in this respect, particularly since neuropsychiatric disorders affect over a third of the population and cost Europe over EUR 800 billion each year. Against this backdrop, the five-year, EU-funded BRIDGE (Brain & behaviour interdisciplinary research) project advanced research and training in brain and behavioural sciences, focusing particularly on neuroimaging methods for cognitive and affective processes in the brain. Run by the Brain & Behaviour Laboratory (BBL) at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the project awarded competitive fellowships to young postdoctoral researchers to research unique topics by combining different disciplines. Through UNIGE, BBL also incorporated expertise on neurosciences and affective sciences from two other institutes. As a result, the BRIDGE project could offer multidisciplinary training in cutting edge techniques on neuroimaging, behavioural tests, psychophysics, physiology, virtual reality and more. BRIDGE launched three calls for research projects, offering fellowships to 31 researchers from 12 countries. Several of these fellows worked on topics related to the human brain and mind, including social communication, motor expression, anger, humour and emotion regulation as well as neurofeedback. Project results have helped introduce new approaches to diagnosis and treatment, offering novel insights into human nature and societies as well as providing valuable findings on the mind. Many of the project's results have been disseminated to relevant players through journals and international conferences. BRIDGE has supported research and innovation in Europe at the fundamental, clinical and societal level with benefits to industry, employment and education. Currently, some of the BRIDGE fellows are involved in projects with institutions promoting human rights and conflict resolution as well as governmental bodies handling public affairs.
Keywords
Brain, behaviour, neuropsychiatric, neuroimaging, BRIDGE, cognitive, affective, emotion regulation, conflict resolution
