Project description
Shared underlying biological mechanisms in mental disorders
Almost one-third of the European population is affected by mental health conditions, and there is growing evidence that many mental disorders overlap in genetics and symptomatology. The goal of the EU-funded CONNECT project is to find a shared underlying biological mechanism of these conditions, based on the hypothesis that the organisational principles of the brain network form a common system for shaping relationships across disorders. The project will map the brain space of cross-disease relationships to identify shared and specific mechanisms of cognitive function and disease dysfunction. The research will involve an MRI database to analyse brain fingerprints across a wide range of conditions, followed by modelling and a machine learning approach to disentangle disease-common from disease-specific traits.
Objective
The brain is one of the most complex living systems we know and has an enormous capacity to regulate our physiology, behaviour and cognition. 30% of the European population however has to deal with a mental challenge, ranging from depression to burnout to psychosis, etcetera. These conditions are traditionally seen as separate disorders, but there is growing evidence that many mental conditions share overlap in terms of their genetics and symptomatology. The brain mechanisms behind this cross-disorder overlap reflecting a common biological factor of mental conditions remains unknown. One of the key problems is that the current field is centralised around ‘single-condition examinations’, lacking specificity and selectivity of macroscale mechanisms, leaving us blind for which brain attributes play a common versus a unique role across and within mental conditions. The goal of CONNECT is to find an underlying shared biological mechanism of mental conditions: I hypothesise that the organizational principles of the healthy brain network form a common network system for shaping relationships across disorders. With CONNECT I want to map the total brain space of cross-disease relationships to disentangle shared and specific mechanisms of cognitive function and disease disfunction. I want to build (WP0) a large multi-disorder MRI database to compare (WP1) brain fingerprints across a wide range of conditions. I will (WP2) develop a mechanistic framework to fundamentally describe cross- condition interactions and model the shared mechanisms of involvement of brain networks in brain function. This model will be leveraged into (WP2/3) a comprehensive connection catalog that systematically maps for all circuitry their common vs unique role in cognitive functions and their subsequent involvement in the spectrum of mental conditions. Disentangling disease-common from disease-specific effects, I will use Machine Learning to pave the way for (WP4) ‘prediction connectomics’.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) ERC-2020-COG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
1081 HV Amsterdam
Netherlands
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.