Project description
An AI method to optimise exposure therapy
Exposure therapy was developed to help people with anxiety disorders by safely exposing them to their fears. It’s considered a first-line treatment. However, many patients do not respond. As such, it’s important to optimise the therapy in terms of the intensity and timing of the exposures. The EU-funded AETHER project will use artificial intelligence (AI) and biosignal analysis methods to develop a new paradigm. This will make use of the latest advances in reinforcement learning algorithms and psychophysiological models. The developed paradigm will intelligently adapt the exposure procedure to each participant, based on their behavior and physiological responses. AETHER aspires to offer a blueprint for optimising behavioural therapies in general.
Objective
Anxiety-related disorders - such as phobias, PTSD, social anxiety, panic disorder - are highly prevalent and pose a great burden on society. First-line treatment for such disorders is exposure therapy (ET), which entails safely exposing patients to the source of their anxiety. Although current ET protocols are generally effective, many patients do not respond to the therapy or experience residual symptoms and relapses. How to optimize many aspects of ET protocols, such as intensity and timing of the exposures, remains uncertain. Moreover, the current research approach of studying the effect of at most few variables using between-group trials, has produced mixed results, despite large efforts.
Finding optimized ET protocols is a high-dimensional search problem, with complexly interacting variables. To efficiently search this high-dimensional space, this action will develop a new paradigm for improving ET by utilizing modern artificial intelligence (AI) and biosignal analysis methods. In particular, the new bio-adaptive ET paradigm will make use of latest advances in reinforcement learning algorithms and psychophysiological models. Reinforcement learning will allow intelligently optimizing the exposure procedure, by sequentially learning from each trial and each participant, and psychophysiological models will allow to estimate the participant's anxiety level better than through overt behavior or physiological signals alone. Although aimed at anxiety disorders, the proposed bio-adaptive ET paradigm has the potential to serve as a blueprint for optimizing behavioral therapies in general.
This action will allow the fellow to gain valuable knowledge of latest AI techniques, which will put him at the forefront of the emerging discipline of computational psychiatry. Furthermore, the proposed agenda will lay the foundation for innovative translational research that will ultimately benefit patients in the EU and beyond.
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.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence machine learning reinforcement learning
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry posttraumatic stress disorder
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry anxiety disorders
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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)
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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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1010 WIEN
Austria
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.