MiND and PACE projects: European Training Networks with UB participation
Two projects in which experts of the University of Barcelona (UB) participate —one to determine the biological basis of the Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and the other to promote the comprehension of perception-action coupling in complex environments— have been funded by a EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network grant. The main objective of this initiative is to train creative and innovative researchers who turn knowledge into advances and services that benefit EU economic and social progress.
Two projects in which experts of the University of Barcelona (UB) participate —one to determine the biological basis of the Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and the other to promote the comprehension of perception-action coupling in complex environments— have been funded by a EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network grant. The main objective of this initiative is to train creative and innovative researchers who turn knowledge into advances and services that benefit EU economic and social progress.
The four-year project MiND (Mastering skills in the training network for attention deficit hyperactivity and autism spectrum disorders), coordinated by Dr Barbara Franke, expert from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center (Netherlands), has received 3.9 million euros. Dr Bru Cormand, professor in the Department of Genetics and researcher in the Institute of Biomedicine of the UB (IBUB), is the principal investigator in the area of genetics and epigenetics of the project, which constitutes a pioneer network that promotes the collaboration between European research groups and the industry to tackle chronic neurodevelopmental disorders, which tend to be hereditary.
MIND is one of the most ambitious initiatives to study risk factors for the development of ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. According to Bru Cormand, “the project aims at offering better diagnosis and more personalised treatments to patients by applying clinical research results”. It is important to highlight that ADHD affects around 5.3% of children and 2.5% of adults, and ASD affects around 1% of children and adults.
The project PACE (Perception and action in complex environments), which has received four million euros, is coordinated by Dr Guillaume Masson, researcher in the French National Center for Scientific Research (CRNS) in Marseille. In the case of the UB, Dr Joan López Moliner, professor in the Department of Basic Psychology and researcher in the Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour (IR3C), is its principal investigator.
According to López Moliner, “the most innovative aspect of PACE is that it studies how to treat delay of sensory information flow —within immerse or virtual reality systems— to avoid loss of precision in actions”. In other words, the project analyses how to treat sensory flows throughout the time in order to minimize risks in a teleoperation. “We are experts on sensory-motor integration, particularly temporal aspects. Our work must find out how to manage information (visual, haptic, auditory) in virtual reality devices in order to get maximum temporal resolution”, explains the researcher. PACE is a four-year project that gathers academics and companies who are experts on experimental psychology, cognitive neurosciences, brain imaging, clinical sciences and technology.