PROJECT: JTC2016: TRAINS

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of disability and death in Europe among young adults and children and an increasing problem in the elderly. In the past few years it became more widely recognized that TBI causes significant morbidity even years after the initial event including sensory-motor dysfunctions (smD). We hypothesize that smD is caused by local loss of brain tissue and remote alterations of CNS areas connected to the TBI-injury site including the spinal cord. The aim of the current project is therefore to investigate the functional consequences of remote alterations of CNS areas occurring at distance from the primary lesion on functional outcomes following TBI while investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms. This knowledge will allow us to design novel drugs. Based on a large set of preliminary data and unsurpassed expertise in the area of CNS injuries, TRAINS will investigate this question in various but complementary experimental models by combining behavioral evaluations and state-of-the-art imaging technology (MRI, 2-PM microscopy, light sheet microscopy). This will result into novel scientific findings, create a structure (Tissue and behavioral data banks) which will outlive the current funding period and will establish a long-lasting pipeline for the evaluation of novel compounds (Multi-center pre-clinical drug testing) which will pave the way towards translation of pre-clinical findings in CNS injuries into the clinical area.