Project description
Studying sleep as a memory boost for Parkinson’s patients
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is characterised by a range of motor symptoms. Rehabilitation involves a range of motor adaptations that are learned to maintain daily functioning. However, the benefit of training is low since it is hard for PD patients to remember what they learned. In this context, the TARGET SLEEP project will investigate how sleep can facilitate motor memory consolidation. For instance, the project will compare the effect of a 2-hour daytime nap with targeted memory reactivation (TMR) and without. The findings will shed light on how sleep interventions may boost the effectiveness of rehabilitation and improve the well-being of PD patients and the ageing population in general.
Objective
Rehabilitation is an important therapeutic strategy for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), whereby motor adaptations are learned to maintain daily functioning. However, patients often present difficulty consolidating newly learned skills into long-term memory, which reduces the benefits of training. Interventions that enhance consolidation are therefore projected to diminish the impact of PD. Sleep facilitates motor memory consolidation in healthy adults, especially in combination with targeted memory reactivation (TMR). TMR works by adding associated auditory stimuli during learning, which are replayed during sleep and thus reinforce the recently formed neural connections. Importantly, recent work has suggested that consolidation during sleep may be preserved in PD, but robust findings are lacking and have not involved TMR. This knowledge gap is astonishing given the potential benefits that can be gained by integrating sleep interventions into rehabilitation. My objective is to address this imperative by investigating the effect of sleep on motor memory consolidation by experimentally manipulating exposure to sleep and TMR for the first time. Concretely, I will compare the effect of a 2-hour daytime nap with or without TMR to that of a wake control period in PD and age-matched controls. I will use a validated motor sequence task to test for behavioral markers of motor learning and apply state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques to study the imprint of neural network changes underlying consolidation. My training objectives include teaching and supervising students in rehabilitation–related neuroscientific topics and research leadership development. I will also implement a rigorous dissemination and communication plan to achieve optimal societal impact of my research findings. I anticipate my MSCA to spark new sleep interventions that boost the effectiveness of rehabilitation and improve the wellbeing of our ageing population, in particular those affected by PD.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine physiotherapy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology parkinson
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence computational intelligence
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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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-EF-RI - RI – Reintegration panel
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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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.
3000 LEUVEN
Belgium
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.