Brain Circuits of Cognition
This project is a wider collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London.
The focus is on understanding the malfunctions in brain circuits that drive impaired cognition in people with major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SZ). The study will aim to connect individual symptoms to specific brain-circuit dysfunctions, and will inform the development of novel therapies that target the underlying neurobiological processes of individual behavioral traits.
Four clinical studies are planned to assess the behaviors of people with MDD and SZ in their home environments as well as during their study center visits where the activation of brain circuits triggered by cognitive tasks will be mapped. The unique study design includes, beyond standard clinical assessments, a battery of cognitive tasks, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), polysomnography, patient functioning assessment through virtual reality tools and digital biomarkers to monitor speech and sleep habits.
The research will also leverage infrastructure and expertise from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre – a partnership between South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London.
Press release: King's College London and Boehringer Ingelheim
Researchers: Sukhi Shergill, Laila Rida, Bryony Mew, Cathy Davies
Collaborators: Professor Steven Williams, Professor Adam Hampshire, Dr Rosalyn Moran
Start date: November 2021 [3 year project]