Despite several breakthroughs, the genetic revolution has not provided a coherent account of the development of the mind and its disorders, and the missing heritability is large across human traits. One explanation of this impasse is the complexity of the gene-environment interactions. Our current knowledge about the determinants of a healthy mind is largely based on studies that treat the environment as a static entity, neglecting to consider the crucial fact that environmental inputs and their genetic interactions vary dramatically between life phases. The objective of BRAINMINT is to deepen our understanding of this link by zeroing in on two major life transitions: adolescence and pregnancy. These phases are characterized by temporarily increased brain plasticity, offering windows for adaptation and growth, but also have a “dark side” in that they are also associated with the emergence of mental disorders. Thus, it appears that the mechanisms that boost neuroplasticity promote adaptation to a dynamic environment, do so at the cost of increased risk of psychopathology if exposed to a combination of genetic and environmental triggers.
BRAINMINT strives to elucidate this phenomenon with the application of cutting-edge longitudinal brain imaging, electrophysiology, rich cognitive and clinical data, immune markers, gene expression and genetics, leveraging massive imaging data and novel tools to increase power and generalizability and improve brain- and gene-based predictions of complex traits, with a special emphasis on traits that are particularly responsive during adolescence and pregnancy.
As such, BRAINMINT is a pioneering and high risk/high gain effort to find mechanisms of brain plasticity that support and harm the brain, aiming to yield insights into how both normal and abnormal development occurs, and, importantly, elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying common mental disorders. This will pave the way for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, as well as providing novel clues into the fundamental architecture of the brain, how it changes over time, and the perturbations underlying mental disorders.
Conclusions of the action
The BRAINMINT project has made significant progress in uncovering the mechanisms linking brain plasticity, genetics and environmental factors during critical developmental life phases. Through large-scale longitudinal data collection, we have generated high quality datasets that will benefit the entire scientific community, in turn making it possible to identify key neurobiological signatures associated with mental health outcomes in adolescence and pregnancy.
