Objective Self-control is at the heart of human nature and enables us to resist temptations. Several clinical disorders are characterized by an inability to control oneself, e.g. addiction and other impulse-related disorders. Since these psychiatric diseases are highly debilitating and cause substantial economic costs, any means of enhancing self-control is of high value for society at large. To date the view prevails that inhibition and therewith self-control is untrainable. Contrary to this, the applicant has gathered data demonstrating that healthy older participants can be trained in inhibition using a game-like self-control training. Trained participants showed transfer to an untrained inhibition task and brain structural plasticity in right inferior frontal gyrus, a brain region associated with inhibition of prepotent actions. The main goal of this research program is, to develop and optimize this promising self-control training and investigate its effectiveness in real-life self-regulation problems in the healthy population (dieting and quitting to smoke) as well as in patients suffering from alcohol addiction. The expected impact of this innovative research program is high. Its results will be ground-breaking for basic science as well as for the treatment of patients with alcohol addiction. The final outcome of this project is going to be a freely distributed app encompassing the optimized self-control training, adaptable to the temptations that the trainee wants to gain control about, and therewith enable the general population to counteract self-regulation problems. Since self-control has sparked the interest of multiple disciplines, that have unfortunately so far developed their concepts fairly independently, the results of this research proposal will pave the way to integrate the knowledge gained from experimental, clinical, and social psychology. But most importantly, this self-control training will enable everyone to improve their capacity for self-regulation. Fields of science medical and health sciencesclinical medicinephysiotherapynatural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryalcoholsengineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imagingmagnetic resonance imagingmedical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutritionobesitynatural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationsvideo games Keywords Self-control Self-regulation Inhibition Brain plasticity Training Neuroimaging Addiction Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-StG-2015 - ERC Starting Grant Call for proposal ERC-2015-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Host institution UNIVERSITAETSKLINIKUM HAMBURG-EPPENDORF Net EU contribution € 1 498 625,00 Address Martinistrasse 52 20251 Hamburg Germany See on map Region Hamburg Hamburg Hamburg Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 498 625,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITAETSKLINIKUM HAMBURG-EPPENDORF Germany Net EU contribution € 1 498 625,00 Address Martinistrasse 52 20251 Hamburg See on map Region Hamburg Hamburg Hamburg Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 498 625,00