Project description
Research for new therapies for PTSD and depression
Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to develop major depressive disorder (MDD), which can limit their response to treatment and lead to more severe symptoms. Atrophy and synaptic loss in the hippocampus (HPC) may result in deficits in fear, memory and learning, which are associated with both PTSD and MDD. Research indicates that regulating glucocorticoids after trauma can impact memory consolidation. The EU-funded PoMAM project suggests that maladaptive fear memory resulting from hippocampal dysfunction may contribute to the development of MDD, thereby explaining the frequent co-occurrence of PTSD and MDD. The project aims to uncover new insights and methodologies in psychology and identify therapeutic targets.
Objective
Despite 70% of people are going to experience a traumatic event throughout life, only 3.9% are going to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Curiously, people who develop PTSD also present a higher risk of developing Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Thus, 50-70% of PTSD patients will live with a diagnostic of MDD, which in terms of prognosis means poor response to treatment and worse symptomatology. Despite the clinical relevance of this comorbidity, it remains unknown if there are shared molecular mechanisms. Impairments in fear memory and learning were related to PTSD and MDD, in association with atrophy and synaptic loss in the hippocampus (HPC). In turn, the HPC plays a crucial role in fear memory, encoding the contextual information related to the fearful stimulus. Thus, we propose that maladaptive fear memory due to hippocampal dysfunction can also contribute to MDD, explaining the high co-morbidity between PTSD and MDD. Importantly, preclinical research focus on fear memory have provided us with promising knowledge for potential PTSD therapeutics. For instance, the regulation of glucocorticoids in the golden hours after trauma to prevent memory consolidation, the use of beta-adrenergic blockers to disrupt consolidated memories, or different psychotherapeutic approaches to enhanced memory extinction. Recently, the advances with chemo- and optogenetic technics have allowed the identification and functional modulation of neurons involved in encoding a specific memory (engrams), thereby allowing a highly refined study of memory substrates. Despite these advances, the use of such approaches in genetic animal models for the study of psychiatric comorbidities is still poorly explored. We believe that this combination can bring new insights and methodological possibilities for the field. In parallel, increase our understanding about the basis of PTSD and MDD can provide new therapeutical targets with direct implications for human 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.
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.
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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
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) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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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.
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
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.