Project description
Advancing brain stimulation for disorders of consciousness
Traumatic brain injury often causes disorders of consciousness (DoC), such as coma and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, with devastating impacts on patients and their families. Millions of people experience DoC every year and many die prematurely after withdrawal of life support, even though up to 25 % may retain hidden signs of consciousness. Brain stimulation offers hope for recovery in these patients, but highly variable responses limit its clinical utility. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CAERUS project aims to develop a new, theory-driven protocol to improve the precision and effectiveness of brain stimulation. The research team will combine computational modelling and experimental testing to create personalised strategies that enhance recovery prospects for individuals with severe brain injuries.
Objective
Disorders of consciousness (DoC) such as coma, and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, affect individuals, their families, and society. Every year, 2.5 million people suffer from DoC caused by traumatic brain injury, and up to 80% die from premature interruption of life-supporting therapies. It is estimated that 25% of these patients could be conscious even without observable behavioral responses. Medical practitioners today can use brain stimulation as a means to assess the presence of consciousness and facilitate recovery. However, the high variability in brain stimulation effects challenges effective diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The absence of guiding principles leaves us with empirical decisions about where, how, and when to stimulate. CAERUS is an innovative initiative that aims to enhance consciousness readout and rehabilitation strategies by designing a new and more controllable stimulation protocol. Synergizing my profile as a theoretical physicist and neuroscientist, with the excellence of the host supervisor Prof. Deco in the field of computational neuroscience, and the secondment supervisor Prof. Massimini in the neurophysiology of consciousness, CAERUS will bridge the gap between theory and bedside applications. By establishing a theory-driven approach, I will characterize the principal sources of variability of stimulus effects, and provide a blueprint for precisely identifying where, how, and when it is more convenient to stimulate. Exploiting the predictive power of advanced brain models, I will test in silico a circuit-level stimulation protocol, that is expected to significantly reduce the variability of stimulus effects. Finally, I will validate the enhanced controllability of the new stimulation protocol in experimental tests in the laboratory. CAERUS's interdisciplinary approach and cutting-edge technology will pave the way for a novel strategy to stimulate the brain, aiming to translate our findings into tangible clinical applications.
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- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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.
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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08002 Barcelona
Spain
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