JARA-BRAIN Active in New Nationwide Research Network for Mental Illness

As part of APIC, the scientists will use state-of-the-art imaging techniques in a large-scale clinical study to investigate the changes in the brain with various drugs, for instance in the hippocampus. (Fotoquelle shutterstock/Alex Mit).
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will support a new research network for mental illness from summer 2014. One of the nine collaborative projects selected, which were presented by Federal Research Minister Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka in Berlin, is the research collaboration entitled “APIC – Antipsychotic-induced structural and functional changes in the brain” coordinated by JARA-BRAIN scientists.
According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one billion people worldwide suffer from psychiatric and neurological disorders. As well as considerably impairing the quality of life of those affected, these disorders result in enormous costs for the healthcare system. With this in mind, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will support a new research network for mental illness from summer 2014. One of the nine collaborative projects selected, which were presented by Federal Research Minister Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka in mid-February 2014 in Berlin, is the research collaboration entitled “APIC – Antipsychotic-induced structural and functional changes in the brain” coordinated by JARA-BRAIN director Prof. Dr. Dr. Frank Schneider from the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics at University Hospital Aachen.
Scientists investigate brain structure and innovative treatments for schizophrenia “Functional and structural changes in the brain have until now mainly been regarded as the cause or consequence of mental illness. However, there is evidence suggesting that drug and psychotherapeutic treatments themselves also have a considerable influence on the structure of the brain,” says Prof. Dr. Dr. Frank Schneider.
The new research collaboration between University Hospital Aachen, Forschungszentrum Jülich, the University of Cologne, and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf will investigate this issue focusing on the example of schizophrenia. “Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that is often treated with long-term medication,” says Frank Schneider. As part of APIC, the scientists will use state-of-the-art imaging techniques in a large-scale clinical study to investigate the changes in the brain with various drugs, for instance in the hippocampus. They will also compare the modifications that occur in the brain with different forms of treatment and the effectiveness of each treatment. During the twelve-month study, the drugs will be administered to one group of the over 600 patients on a continual basis and to another group only as is deemed necessary.
Innovative neurofeedback: targeted brain training may relieve symptoms
In a further subproject within APIC, schizophrenia patients will not be treated with drugs, but will receive innovative therapy using neurofeedback. Schizophrenia patients often suffer from hallucinations – such as hearing voices – or delusions. With the aid of targeted, supervised training in an MRI scanner, the patients will learn to regulate by themselves the specific processes in the brain that produce such voices.
APIC will receive funding of around € 4 million from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

JARA-BRAIN director Prof. Dr. Dr. Frank Schneider from the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics at University Hospital Aachen coordinates the collaborative APIC project.