Project description
Dissecting the body-brain crosstalk
Our brain constantly receives and processes sensory information from the body to regulate key functions. The insular cortex is a brain structure that is important for processing sensory information from within the body, as well as for taste, taking centre stage in the brain’s interoceptive network. The EU-funded InsulaBodyLoop project will focus on how the insular cortex regulates metabolic function and eating behaviour. Researchers will address key aspects regarding the crosstalk between the brain and the gastrointestinal system. Moreover, they will answer questions related to the role of taste and smell in food consumption processes such as salivation and insulin release. Overall, project results will provide important insight into body-brain interactions that maintain our physical and mental health.
Objective
The brain and body are in a continuous dialog. Our brains constantly receive sensory information from within our body, as well as from the external environment, and then use it to regulate bodily function. Brain-body communication is essential for our physical and mental health, yet little is known about how it is achieved at the neurobiological level. A large corpus of work implicates the insular cortex as a central node in the brain's interoceptive network. Current models suggest that insular cortex integrates internal and external sensory information to regulate bodily physiology. Yet direct experimental evidence has been scarce. I propose a research program that focuses on the insular cortex as part of a dynamic loop with the gastrointestinal system, which regulates peripheral metabolic function and feeding behaviour. Two fundamental questions form the core of this proposal: (1) How do the sight, smell, and taste of a savoury dish, or a sweet dessert, enable our brains to predict the post-ingestive nutrients they will supply? (2) How are these predictions relayed to our body to pre-emptively prepare it for consumption, e.g. by inducing salivation and insulin release? To answer these questions we need to understand both cortical predictive computations, as well as peripheral physiology. I therefore propose to build on my expertise and use an inter-disciplinary approach, combining cutting-edge neuroscience and computational methods with recordings and optogenetic control of peripheral physiology. This will reveal: (1) how insular cortex represents internal sensations, (2) how insular cortex forms associations between internal and external sensory information, and (3) how these associations are relayed to the body to maintain homeostasis. This study will provide a conceptual and methodological foundation for future elucidation of how different internal sensory modalities act together within the brain-body loop to maintain our physical and emotional health.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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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
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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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-STG
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7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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