Medical Scientist-Programm 2023

Thema: "The dynamic brain in anorexia nervosa: uncovering novel neurobiological mechanisms and opportunities for new therapies"

Zusammenfassung:
The brain dynamically uses stable configurations of neuronal connection to integrate, coordinate, and initiate adaptive behaviours in response to internal and external stimuli. Thanks to advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques and state-of-art methodologies, investigation of such functional brain configurations, or states, is now possible, offering new insights into brain alterations underlying mental disorders. Current anorexia nervosa research has not yet made use of those advances, limiting the understanding of neurobiological mechanisms that underlay the disease. This research proposal aims to shed some light for the first time on dynamic brain changes occurring over different stages of the disease. Specifically, we aim to quantify disrupted dynamics, identify microstructural abnormalities with novel technologies and methods, and establish links between them and disorder-defining symptoms and behaviours. Overall, brain functional dynamic analysis could provide novel insights into the system-level disruptions underlying anorexia nervosa, which may lead to a better understanding of the disorder and, eventually, might deliver diagnostic or prognostic indicators.