The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a new Collaborative Research Center Transregio (SFB/TRR) 379 entitled “Neuropsychobiology of Aggression: A Transdiagnostic Approach to Mental Disorders” to investigate the biological basis of different manifestations of aggression. The complex neurocognitive and neurobiological mechanisms underlying “Aggression in Mental Disorders” (AMD) are still poorly understood, which hinders the development of successful prevention and intervention strategies. In the interplay of clinical and experimental neuroscience, the researchers involved are therefore looking at various aspects that characterize aggression in mental disorders. These include genetic and molecular mechanisms as well as hormonal, neuronal and behavioral systems.
Individually tailored prevention
The aim is to identify the most important biosignatures of AMD in order to create new approaches for “tailored” prevention and intervention. “Every individual act of aggression stems from a complex set of biographical, situational and biological factors. We are working to better understand the causes of aggression in various mental disorders. These findings should help us to develop prevention and treatment methods that are tailored to the individual needs of patients,” says Prof. Dr. Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Director of the CIMH and Medical Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the CIMH.
The spokesperson of the SFB/TRR 379 is Prof. Dr. Ute Habel, scientist at the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics at RWTH Aachen University. In addition to Aachen, Heidelberg and the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH), Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Julius-Maximilians University Würzburg and Forschungszentrum Jülich are also part of the Collaborative Research Center. The SFB/TRR 379 will be funded by the DFG over four years with around 16 million euros. The funding period begins on October 1, 2024, making it the third Collaborative Research Center that the DFG has funded at the institute at the same time.
Further information can be found at https://trr379.de/