Research collaborations on cognitive performance and relevant disorders in humans

Announcement:	2005, 2006 and 2007
Funding period:	until 2010
Funding volume:	20 mio Euro
Number of projects:	22

1. Objectives of funding

Understanding the brain on the basis of the structure of the brain and its function is essential for the prevention and treatment of disorders of the nervous system, for a better general comprehension of human behaviour and its underlying biological processes and, last but not least, for designing efficient strategies for teaching and learning. Major progress has been made in the study of fundamental neural processes over the last ten years. However, the thorough analysis of brain functions continues to be a scientific challenge.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) addresses this subject matter with several funding measures by the lead vision "Understanding thought processes". Major insights for a better understanding of higher brain functions are expected from cognitive science. The funding measure “Research collaborations on cognitive performance and relevant disorders in humans” is to support this research.
Cognition includes processes like perception, attention, learning and memory, thinking and problem-solving, planning and action controlling, and speech performances. Cognitive science produces not only findings on the neurobiological fundamentals of cognition but also insights into the progress of diseases involving the impairment of brain functions. It is necessary that various disciplines including psychology, psychiatry, neurology, neurophysiology and computational neurosciences cooperate.

2. State of the funding measure

The BMBF supports cognitive science in Germany by the funding measure “Research collaborations on cognitive performance and relevant disorders in humans”. Since 2005 22 research collaborations are funded. The BMBF intends to provide 20 million Euro in the years 2005 to 2010. Funding is to be used to take up excellent, internationally competitive research approaches while making a contribution to improving interdisciplinary cooperation. Research collaborations are to bridge the gap between a research approach which aims to improve the basic understanding of higher cerebral functions and clinical research with human patients.

3. Funded projects

a) Short description of current projects

Network "Decision making"

Collaboration coordinator: Dr. Markus Ullsperger

Multimodal pre-, intra- and post-operative investigation of cognitive deep-brain stimulation effects on monitoring-based decision making

Universität zu Köln Medizinische Fakultät Universitätsklinikum - Klinik für Stereotaxie und funktionelle Neurochirurgie Kerpener Str. 62 50937 Köln

Principal investigator Tel.: Project number: Volume: Funding period:

PD Dr. Christian Philipp Bührle +49 221 478 3565 01GW0721 225.927 EUR 01.11.2007 - 31.10.2011

Network "Impulse control"

Neural circuitry of impulse control: An integrative approach towards the understanding of normal and impaired impulse control in humans

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg Universitätsklinikum Freiburg Abt. für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Hauptstr. 5 79104 Freiburg

Principal investigator: Tel.: Project number: Volume: Funding period:

Prof. Dr. Klaus Lieb +49 761 270-6681 01GW0730 1.057.908 EUR 01.01.2008 - 30.09.2011

Human cognitive structure and neuronal networks in normal and impaired impulse control will be investigated based on a common model of neurological and psychiatric diseases. In subproject 1 components of impulse control are characterised by neuropsychological tests in unimpaired persons. The neuroanatomy of impulse control in impaired and unimpaired persons using functional imaging is investigated in subproject 2.  The effect of therapeutic interventions is investigated in a longitudinal design in subproject 3. In subproject 4 neuronal network models are simulated with realistic anatomical and physiological assumptions. The extracted components of the common cognitive model of impulse control will be proved empirically. In a long-term perspective improved individual therapeutic concepts may be triggered.

Network “Social Action”

Looking Behind the Mirror: Neuro-Cognitive Mechanisms of Social Actions and Their Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia (TP 2)

Philipps-Universität Marburg FB 20 Medizin und Universitätsklinikum Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Rudolf-Bultmann-Str. 8 35039 Marburg

Principal investigator: Tel.: Project number: Volume: Funding period:

Prof. Dr. Tilo Kircher +49 6421 58-66219 01GW0901 214.432 EUR 01.01.2009 - 31.12.2011

The project aims to unravel the cognitive and neural mechanisms of perceiving and executing social actions. This main objective includes (1) on a empirical and theoretical level to link the cognitive notions of common coding and efference copy to the neuroscience based MNS, bridging the yet unexplored conceptual gap between the three approaches, (2) on a behavioural level the generalisation of common coding theory from simple to socially relevant actions, (3) on a neural level to develop an empirical connection between the MNS and efference copy systems, (4) on the level of social interaction to investigate mechanisms of the transfer of socio-emotional information via MNS, (5) on a developmentallevel to describe the ontogenesis of the MNS, (6) on a c1inical level to identify basic mechanisms of confined social impairments in weil circumscribed dysfunctions in schizophrenie autism and childhood ASO, and (7) to scrutinize newly developed models from healthy subjects via the disorders. As an exemplar social action, face movements will be investigated using a multimethod approach (behavioural, fMRI, MEG studies) in different groups (children, adults, patients with schizophrenia and ASO), systematically varying the experimental degree of sociality (from perception of "non-social" actions to direct on line interaction of partners). Faces provide the unique advantages of (1) being a powerful social stimulus, which is (2) not visible to the subject itself, thus allowing for potential visual feedback or "mirror" experiments.

Network “Structure and function of the frontal opercular region”

Receptor- and cytoarchitectonic parcellation of the frontal operculum and adjacent insular cortex (TP 1)

Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen Medizinische Fakultät Universitätsklinikum Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Pauwelsstr. 30 52074 Aachen

Principal investigator: Tel.: Project number: Volume: Funding period:

Prof. Dr. Katrin Amunts +49 241 80-85210 01GW0771 293.937 EUR 01.01.2008 - 31.12.2011

Connectivity of the frontal opercular region (TP 2)

Max-Planck-Institut für neurologische Forschung Gleueler Str. 50 50931 Köln

Principal investigator: Tel.: Project number: Volume: Funding period:

Dr. Marc Tittgemeyer +49 221 4726-215 01GW0772 177.618 EUR 01.01.2008 - 31.12.2011

Language research has started from a neuroanatomical-clinical observation of a patient suffering from aphasia after a lesion in the left inferior frontal lobe - Broca’s region. This and later observations by Wernicke have led to a functional-anatomical concept of language involving an anterior center for speech (Broca), a posterior one for comprehension (Wernicke), and a fiber tract (arcuate fascicle), connecting both centers. Whereas this concept was productive with respect to the understanding of brain lesions and clinical symptoms for many decades, it’s insufficiency with respect to neurolinguistically defined components of language became more and more clear during the last years. Progress in neurolinguistics as well as functional imaging of the living, healthy brains under well defined experimental conditions have significantly contributed to more elaborate concepts of language. Recent concepts are still relatively imprecise, however, with respect to the underlying neuroanatomy, i.e., microscopically defined cortical areas and their connectivity. Moreover, not only the classical areas of Broca’s region (areas 44 and 45), but also neighboring areas (frontal operculum, insula) seem to be involved in language processing, i.e., regions, for which only 100 years old cytoarchitectonic map of Brodmann (1909) is available. The consortium will study the involvement of the frontal operculum and adjoining insular regions in different aspects of language processing on a functional and anatomical level. It seeks to establish a model, in analogy to Broca’s and Wernicke’s pioneering work, which combines function, structure, and connectivity: at a behavioral level, functional imaging studies will define the role of the frontal operculum in various aspects of language processing. At the structural level, cytoarchitectonics and receptor architectonics will be investigated in postmortem brains. Such microstructural investigation will be supplemented by connectivity patterns obtained in the living human brain. Therefore, we will be able to segregate the frontal operculum from other language related, adjacent regions (e. g., areas 44 and 45), both at a functional and structural level. Each of the three project partners will bring its specific expertise to the joint enterprise. The Aachen/Jülich group (Amunts) will conduct the cyto- and the receptorarchitectonic analyses, and provide probabilistic maps for the other two projects; the Cologne group (Tittgemeyer) will provide the expertise in tractography-based connectivity analysis whereas the Leipzig group (Friederici) will conduct the functional studies. While the Aachen/Jülich group will work on postmortem brains, Cologne and Leipzig will work on in vivo brains. It is planed to provide the diffusion tensor imaging data collected in Leipzig from those subjects that participated in the functional studies in order to improve anatomical-functional correlations.

b) Expired projects