Project description
A socio-cognitive look at addiction recovery in adolescence
The risk of alcohol and cannabis addiction increases during adolescence. Recovery rates are also remarkably higher among teenagers than adults. The ERC-funded AGING MATTERS will explore the brain’s recovery potential and how this is affected by age. It will focus on the unique socio-cognitive sensitivity and learning flexibility of the adolescent brain. By studying the common and unique mechanisms of addiction risk and resilience in adolescents and adults, the project will uncover the predictive value of social learning flexibility, motivation, self-control and the brain systems underlying changes in use and problem severity over time. The findings will result in a socio-cognitive developmental framework of addiction.
Objective
Despite neuroscientific advances and innovative treatment efforts, for most people addiction remains chronic. Adolescence marks rapid surges in alcohol and cannabis addiction, but also remarkable recovery rates, as most adolescent addictions naturally resolve over time. Brain development holds an import key to understanding the brain’s recovery potential. However, the impact of age on the mechanisms underlying addiction is largely unknown. Capitalizing on adolescents’ unique socio-cognitive sensitivity and learning flexibility, my goal is to unravel common and unique mechanisms of addiction risk and resilience in adolescents and adults. At the core of my innovative developmental-translational research line is a 3-year longitudinal neuroimaging study in adolescent and adult alcohol and cannabis users. This study will uncover the predictive value of social learning flexibility, motivation, self-control and the brain systems underlying changes in use and problem severity over time. Using the same neuroimaging paradigm, causality will be evaluated in rats that start using alcohol and cannabis either during adolescence or adulthood. Finally, a third set of studies will focus on the development of new methods to capture the complex role of social context and learning in pulling adolescents towards and young adults away from alcohol and cannabis use. Ultimately, these studies will lead to a long-sought socio-cognitive developmental framework of addiction, including novel markers of risk and resilience and novel paradigms to study the role of social context and in addiction. My approach effectively addresses multiple research gaps at once and the theoretical and methodological advances made through this high risk-high gain proposal will not only advance addiction knowledge and treatment, but also set the stage for a new approach to solving psychopathology: an approach in which aging brain matter matters.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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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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-STG - Starting 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-2020-STG
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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.
3062 PA Rotterdam
Netherlands
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.