Profile

The activity of the center is based on three pillars, basic and applied research, development of digital platforms for the prevention of relapse of the most serious mental illnesses and development of clinical applications as part of a comprehensive program of comprehensive care in the early stages of the most serious mental illnesses.

(A) Basic and applied research based on big data within the unique multimodal prospective database of first episode psychotic illness (ESO) that the center is building. In addition to clinically oriented neurobiological research, based on ESO data, we focus on the development of an information system for comprehensive personalized care in psychosis, which integrates clinical data with the results of neuroimaging (MRI), biochemical, immunological, proteomic, neurocognitive and genetic data. This digital platform and extensive normative database serve to predict the course of psychotic illnesses at their earliest stages and form the blueprint for an expert, data-driven decision system for clinicians (CAD) in psychiatry. The development of the CAD system is the main output of this branch of the Center's activity. Another goal is the subtyping of individual neurobiological entities within the arbitrary nosological concept of schizophrenia, again on the basis of prospective, multimodal ESO data. The intention is to lay the foundations for stratified treatment of psychotic illnesses.

(B) These activities are followed by the second pillar focused on the development of digital platforms for the prevention of relapse of the most serious mental illnesses. We develop and implement also in an international context (i) an mHealth program for the prevention of schizophrenia relapse (ITAREPS), (ii) as part of applied research, we are developing an mHealth program with the collection of actigraphic data for bipolar affective disorder (the AKTIBIPO system), (iii) another area is the development of a digital of the PEBDI system (dynamic pupillometer with wireless data centralization), as a platform for early detection of relapse in schizophrenia and mood disorders.

Both activities (A) and (B) are combined into (C) the development of clinical applications as part of a comprehensive program of comprehensive care for the early stages of the most serious mental illnesses, especially schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorders.

Objectives

1. Building multimodal databases for the first episode of schizophrenia, OCD, bipolar affective disorder (MRI, EEG, neuropsychology, genetics, metabolome, long-term monitoring based on telemedicine applications)
2. Advanced analysis of multimodal data in psychiatry. On this basis, prediction of the course, therapeutic response and medium-term outcome of the disease
3. Neuroimaging research using MRI and MRI/256-channel, MR-compatible EEG
4. Development and clinical testing of telemedicine applications for long-term monitoring and relapse prediction in psychiatry

Sub-objectives

1. Introduce methodologies providing source clinical and neurobiological data (i.e. gene typing, magnetic resonance imaging, telemonitoring of psychopathology using mobile technologies).
2. Create the architecture and test your own information system, including its modules.
3. To provide an effective platform for neuropsychiatric research, by creating an integrative database bringing together complete information on a broad register of neurobiological and clinical variables in patients.