Group 029 CIBERSAM

 


About us

The linked group CIBERSAM (CB19 / 09/00029) led by Dr. Diego Palao, is made up of clinical researchers from Mental Health and Neurology at Parc Taulí University Hospital (psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses) and basic researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).

It has been integrated into the line "Affective disorders: diagnosis, epidemiology and treatment" of CIBERSAM with which we share research strategies. CIBERSAM is the leading center for research into mental illness focused on improving the quality of life of citizens, and facilitates and enhances networking work between different national groups.

The lines of research in which we work in the CIBERSAM network are:

  1. The epidemiology and strategies for the prevention of affective disorders.
  2. The development of tools and biomarkers that facilitate the diagnosis of the different pathologies of affectivity.
  3. Optimization and innovation in therapeutic aspects that broaden and improve the alternatives or treatment targets for this set of disorders.
     

Targets

The main objective of the Parc Taulí-UAB Neuroscience group is the development of excellence and innovative neuroscience research, in collaboration with other CIBERSAM groups, that have a significant impact on people's quality of life.

Epidemiological and prevention studies in the area of ​​affective disorders

We highlight the development of the "Multilevel Intervention Program for the Prevention of Depression and Suicide" developed with the promotion of European Alliance Against Depression, the study of the factors of rich among the people included in the Catalonia Suicide Risk Code or 1st project of the Sabadell Science Night for the prevention of mental health problems in young people.

Characterization of affective disorders and development of new diagnostic tools.

Focused on the characterization of the neurobiological, psychological and social bases of affective disorders, we study:

  • Negative Valencia systems (stress, fear, anxiety, loss),
  • Positive Valencia systems (reward),
  • Cognitive Systems,
  • Systems of Social Processes (social cognition).

For this purpose different are going to be used units of analysis:

  • Animal Modeling: With the development and experimentation in models of stress, anhedonia, cognition and social cognition.
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology and stress system in affective disorders: With clinical studies on the role of stress systems, especially in corticoid programming and the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) in different samples of patients and risk groups, as well as their relationship and modulatory activity on the neuroinflammatory system.
  • Neural system: With clinical studies on alterations in the functioning or structure of neural systems, involved in the different domains of behavior in Bipolar Disorder and Depression.

The development of new diagnostic tools includes the incorporation of computerized decision support systems (SADC) and their integration with electronic clinical records. The collaboration in the European project stands out in this regard NYMPHA (Next Generation Mobile Platform for HeAlth, in Mental Disorders) for the implementation of mobile-based health services (m-Health) to support physicians and patients in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Innovation and optimization of therapeutic strategies.

Focused on the research of new technologies in the development and optimization of innovative therapeutic strategies, they emphasize the collaboration in the development of the telerehabilitation platform NeuropersonalTrainer ® Mental Health (NPT-SM), the online program iFightDepression -available in more than 9 languages- or the evaluation of prognostic variables for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) response.

Finally we highlight the project INDI +, for the health impact of depression (the leading cause of disability due to illness worldwide). It is a project to implement a depression guide integrated into the electronic clinical records of primary care in Catalonia, by introducing the model of chronic patient management for people suffering from depression in primary care. .