Project description
False beliefs: characterising anosognosia and delusions in Alzheimer’s disease
Anosognosia, from the Greek meaning lacking knowledge or recognition of one’s health conditions, is extremely common in mental health conditions like schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Delusions are another form of false beliefs that persist even in the face of evidence to the contrary, and they are also common in schizophrenia and AD. Research investigating the mechanisms of these two have largely proceeded independently despite their apparent similarities. The ERC-funded UnaWireD project will focus on AD, in which some people show severe symptoms and others never have them at all. The project will better characterise the mechanisms underlying each and determine if there are shared mechanisms between them.
Objective
Why is the diseased human brain able to produce false beliefs that persist despite evidence to the contrary? Unawareness of neurological disturbances (anosognosia) and Delusions are examples of such false beliefs. Both have productive, narrative features. Both have been independently linked to processes involved in self-reflection, metamemory, and error-monitoring. Despite their phenomenological similarities, the research investigating their mechanisms has progressed independently. UnaWireD will provide the first in-depth investigation of anosognosia and delusions in combination to test the hypothesis that they share common brain mechanisms. Although these symptoms impact significantly on a range of brain disorders, the proposal focuses on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), in which the difference between patients who show the most severe form of these symptoms and patients who never present them is striking yet largely unexplained. In particular, it is not known whether these symptoms represent a response of the spared brain to the damage (depending on pre-existing vulnerability or resilience) or are a consequence of the damage itself (depending on type, localisation and severity of pathology).
By combining advanced imaging with experimental paradigms and extended clinical and biomarker characterisation, UnaWireD will:
1. Establish whether anosognosia and delusions define a specific clinical subtype in AD;
2. Determine if they are associated with premorbid personality and cognitive abilities;
3. Identify the brain networks specifically altered in the anosognosia/delusion AD subtype;
4.Test if anosognosia is associated with an imbalance in the brain neurotransmitter dopamine.
UnaWireD will deliver a new framework to study the interplay between the spared and damaged brain in the origin of productive symptoms across neurological diseases. By doing so, it will open a window towards a better understanding of the uniquely human abilities of self-reflection and consciousness
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.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology dementia alzheimer
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
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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)
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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)
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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.
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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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41121 MODENA
Italy
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