ChildBrain — Advancing brain research in children’s developmental neurocognitive disorders

Results in brief

Advancing brain research in children’s developmental neurocognitive disorders

Many children are affected by developmental neurocognitive disorders, such as problems of attention or reading difficulties, or neurocognitive problems associated with hearing loss and epilepsy (each affecting from 1% up to about 10% of children). These disorders carry an increased risk of societal exclusion and place a significant economic burden on Europe’s healthcare and educational systems. There is hence a need to improve preventive actions, differential diagnosis and appropriate interventions, which need to be evidence-based and aided by research. The European Brain Council (http://www.europeanbraincouncil.org/projects/CDBE/2010) has suggested that EU should emphasize more research into the causes of neurocognitive disorders, and that training on neurocognitive disorders should be present in all health professions, and encourage industry to engage in brain research. The ChildBrain ETN addresses these concerns using brain imaging techniques. There are critical technical and scientific challenges associated with brain imaging in children. These techniques have been developed primarily for the adult brain anatomy. However, differences in child brain anatomy can lead to erroneous results in characterizing brain activity using standard methods. Therefore, a detailed understanding of developmental changes is needed for applying brain imaging in clinical or educational settings in children. The next generation of scientists should understand the mathematical and analytical challenges of using brain imaging data, brain development, as well as clinical applications of these techniques. With these challenges in mind, the ChildBrain (www.childbrain.eu) European Training Network (ETN) has trained interdisciplinary scientists to contribute to the development of new diagnostic tools. ChildBrain has created a cross-disciplinary network of experts with skills and professional connections to drive innovations in the application of brain imaging and has created links between industry and academia for the training of Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) and to develop new analytical methods. ChildBrain has acquired significant child datasets that improve our understanding of brain development, and neurodevelopmental disorders, and has developed new commercial and open-source products to guide clinical work and basic research.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The European Brain Council (EBC) has recommended the disorders of the brain to be prioritised for funding. The purpose of this ChildBrain ETN is 1) to train young scientists, Early Stage Researchers (ESRs), to utilise evidence-based neuroscientific knowledge for helping children, especially those at high risk for dropout due to neurocognitive disorders, to meet future educational and societal demands. The network aims 2) to develop new, innovative brain imaging-based tools through research and industry to be applied by researchers and clinical sector end users for 3) increasing understanding and improving diagnosis and treatment of neurocognitive disorders, as well as enhancing targeted educational programs. To accomplish these goals, we aim 4) to form a cross-disciplinary and trans-sectorial European network of experts. Three research and two training work packages (WPs) are planned to reach these goals. The Childhood neurodevelopmental disorders WP comprises new research and training on the neural underpinnings of dyslexia, ADHD, epilepsy, and hearing loss and creates links to healthcare industry and special education. The Brain development WP will focus on understanding the systems-level brain development at the level of the individual child. The Brain research methods WP will develop new multi-modal data analysis methodologies that are essential for children and will also further brain research in adults. The academic, industrial and private sector partners will work across these themes, offering the ESRs project-specific collaboration, secondments, workshops, summer school and courses on scientific, transferable and entrepreneurial skills, as well as supervision. The ChildBrain ETN will produce a new generation of scientists with the theoretical, technological, and entrepreneurial skills necessary for making breakthroughs in the understanding of brain development and childhood neurocognitive disorders.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

JYVASKYLAN YLIOPISTO · JyvaskylaCoordinatorFinland
ASTON UNIVERSITY · BirminghamUnited Kingdom
BESA GmbH · GRAFELFINGGermany
British Dyslexia Association · BracknellUnited Kingdom
HUN-REN TERMESZETTUDOMANYI KUTATOKOZPONT · BudapestHungary
ICOMETRIX NV · LeuvenBelgium
INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE EN INFORMATIQUE ET AUTOMATIQUE · Le Chesnay CedexFrance
KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN · LeuvenBelgium
KING'S COLLEGE LONDON · LondonUnited Kingdom
MEGIN OY · HelsinkiFinland
NIILO MAKI -SAATIO SR · JYVASKYLAFinland
STICHTING RADBOUD UNIVERSITEIT · NijmegenNetherlands
TOBII AB · DanderydSweden
UNIVERSITAET MUENSTER · MuensterGermany

ChildBrain · Advancing brain research in children’s developmental neurocognitive disorders

Results in brief

Advancing brain research in children’s developmental neurocognitive disorders

Project objective

Participants

Links