More effective diagnosis of mental illnesses – SAME-NeuroID project

Medicine still does not have enough useful tools to quickly and effectively diagnose patients with neuropsychiatric disorders. That’s why Łukasiewicz – PORT researchers want to better understand what abnormalities in human brain function lead to them.

In the SAME-NeuroID (Standardized Approaches to Modeling and Examination of Neuropsychiatric Disorders) project, funded by the Horizon Europe program, they have set a goal:  – To develop standardized methods for the examination of neuropsychiatric disorders, enabling the comparison of results in different laboratories – explains Dr. Witold Konopka, head of the project.

A better understanding of brain disorders, and consequently the development of better diagnostic methods, more effective therapies and care tailored specifically to psychiatric patients – how do the researchers intend to achieve these goals? Together. The SAME-NeuroID project is an international initiative between Łukasiewicz – PORT and European neuroscience leadership centers: Paris Brain Institute, Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam.

– The symptoms of mental illnesses have various biological backgrounds. Each can result from the malfunction of different groups of brain cells – Dr. Michał Ślęzak, leader of Biology of the Astrocytes Group, stresses that it is crucial to develop common methods for studying several specific biological parameters, including those related to depression. As part of the project, research is being carried out using identical methods at different centers, providing a basis for reliable testing of new drugs.

Łukasiewicz – PORT uses advanced technologies, such as the “cell reprogramming” method, in which patients’ somatic cells (such as skin cells) are transformed into brain cells. Such models allow the study of cellular deficits and brain dysfunctions under controlled laboratory conditions.

Analyses of animal behavior also provide valuable information. Long-term observations under well-defined conditions and analyses of recordings with artificial intelligence-based tools provide a vast amount of data that, when properly processed, help to better understand neuropsychiatric disorders.

The goals of the SAME-NeuroID project and the path to developing more effective diagnostic tools that can reach the offices of psychiatrists and therapists around the world are presented in the project’s newly released promotional video:

In addition to achieving its research goals, the SAME-NeuroID project also offers workshops, trainings and conferences aimed at researchers, giving them the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the commercialization of scientific discoveries and the practical aspects of implementing innovations in the field of neuropsychiatry.