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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - STRESNET (Stress Resilience and Network-Feedback Training)

Teaser

Summary

Decreasing the burden of stress-related mental problems and diseases is seen by many as one of the greatest health care challenges of the 21st century. Figures show that (each year) 60.4 million people (14% of the EU population) suffer from anxiety disorders, while major depression affects 29.8 million people (6.9%). Critically, stress-related symptoms tend to become chronic diseases, highlighting the need for early interventions to prevent their development. Prevention, however, is hampered by a lack of understanding of the factors that determine resilience to stressors. The STRESNET project aims to fill this gap by first investigating the effects of stress on brain function, with a focus on global shifts in brain function at the level of large-scale brain networks. Second, it will identify which of these measures predict resilience to real-life stressors, by using wearable biosensors and mobile applications for self-report questionnaires. Third, the project will develop a novel biofeedback intervention based on real-time functional MRI to specifically target these circuits, in both healthy volunteers and participants at risk for development of stress-related diseases.

Work performed

The STRESNET project is currently halfway, and concentrating strongly on data acquisition. Team members have developed the methodology for investigating brain responses to standardized laboratory stressors. Furthermore, a platform has been implemented that allows us to investigate subjective (self report) and objective (physiological activity) measures of stress responsiveness in real life. Third, the methodology has been developed that will allow us to investigate the potential effects of biofeedback based on neural activity in large-scale brain networks affected by stress. Fourth, we have published a paper on effects of eye movements on balance between large-scale brain networks, and their effects on memory, a study that has received substantial attention (inter)nationally. The project team has furthermore actively reached out to the general public by organizing and participating in various public symposia, for instance on burnout.

Final results

The STRESNET project aims to move beyond the state of the art by in three critical directions: 1) From brain regions to brain circuits: Stress-related mental disorders should be studied as maladaptations at the circuit level rather than individual brain regions. 2) From treatment to prevention: Early intervention in stress-related disorders is critical to break the vicious cycle of remission and relapse. Technological developments such as wearable biosensors and mobile applications developed in this proposal are creating the opportunity for real-life health monitoring and early intervention. 3) From vulnerability to resilience: Because resilience does not equal the absence of vulnerability, understanding factors that uniquely determine stress resilience will be critical to develop new ways to promote mental health. In sum, when successful, the STRESNET project will yield profound fundamental insight into the brain\'s capacity to adapt to environmental stressors. In the foreseeable future, this will create the opportunity to develop early interventions to prevent development, relapse, and chronification of stress-related disorders.