Objective
Non-invasive observation of fast spatiotemporal activity patterns of large neural populations distributed over entire brains is a longstanding goal of neuroscience. Not only would such abilities significantly promote our knowledge on brain function and its pathophysiology but they are also expected to accelerate development of novel therapies targeting neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. The progress is hampered by the limited capacity of state-of-the-art functional neuroimaging tools, which do not permit simultaneous monitoring of whole-brain activity with an adequate spatiotemporal resolution. Our recently developed five-dimensional optoacoustic tomography technique is ideally poised to overcome these limitations – it has shown excellent capacity for imaging intrinsic contrast in entire brains of vertebrates and rodents non-invasively; delivers unmatched temporal resolution in the milliseconds range for true volumetric imaging in real time; capable of label-free observations of hemodynamic changes and sensitive to genetic markers of neural activity.
Yet, several fundamental challenges ought to be addressed before true potential of optoacoustic functional neuroimaging is unveiled. First, optoacoustic monitoring of fast neural activation under physiologically relevant stimuli and in real disease models has not been achieved. Furthermore, a variety of acoustic effects introduced by the skull compromise performance of optoacoustics in transcranial imaging of murine models, further hindering its clinical translation potential. Finally, technology needs to be developed that can deliver information from single neurons while maintaining high volumetric imaging speed. By resolving those challenges, the current project will yield a unique and groundbreaking functional neuroimaging method that can truly transform the existing paradigms in neuroscience by delivering real time information from hundreds of thousands or even millions of neurons simultaneously.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology pathophysiology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
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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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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.
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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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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) ERC-2015-CoG
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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.
8006 Zurich
Switzerland
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.