Itch is hard to ignore. Attention plays an important role in pain; for itch this has up to now barely been investigated. In this research project, we showed that itch and pain can interfere with someone’s attention to another task, but one does not seem to focus consistently to the location of itch and pain. We also found that healthy individuals generally do not display more attention, also not preconsciously, to itch pictures and/or words than to comparable neutral stimuli. Additionally, attention cannot be easily trained away from such stimuli.

Lifestyles influence (mental) health and contribute to health quality and opportunities in life. These behaviours are closely linked to our living environment, determined by personal, socioeconomic, work, housing and other living circumstances. Despite considerable technological advancements, sustainable adoption of healthy lifestyles is challenging for vulnerable people, often showing poor health literacy and an accumulation of lifestyle and environmental risk factors. This leads to unacceptable and unethical health and socioeconomic inequalities. Our solution is to improve the adoption and sustainable adherence of healthy lifestyles by young vulnerable families in deprived neighbourhoods through “Our Smart Family Buddy” intervention. This Interactive Digital Buddy platform called ID-Buddy operates by an App and robot (Avatar) for human and environmental interactions and fosters health literacy, healthy lifestyles and reduces the impact of environmental risks. By operating as user-friendly eHealth solution, ID-Buddy is easily accessible to its target group. We will develop ID-Buddy by first mapping existing eHealth functionalities and implementation strategies for their applicability. Through field lab methodology, including co-creation and co-design in societal learning communities, functionalities fitting best with user-needs will be selected and implemented into ID-Buddy. The prototype will be further optimized and personalized using Artificial Intelligence strategies. Finally, we will test ID-Buddy for its usability, (cost-)effectiveness and (inter)operability. By the delivery of the evidence-based digital preventive ID-Buddy intervention, we will contribute to the structural and sustainable improvement of health equality for vulnerable citizens and their families. This will have a positive impact on overall well-being and promotes their societal opportunities.

In this project, we aim to explore how teenagers convey attraction to one another. Our platform facilitates conversations between scientists and teenagers, focusing on attraction. Through four Evenings of Seduction at Naturalis, we organise engaging activities centered around communication, participation, and co-creation. These events include presenting research findings, conducting workshops, and hosting discussion panels. By involving teenagers in brainstorming sessions on topics relevant to their daily lives, we gain diverse perspectives. This projects interdisciplinary approach, practical insights, and fundamental knowledge enhance our connection with society and pave the way for impactful interventions for teenagers.

Ambition. Mental health is a substantial global challenge. The scale of mental illnesses is overwhelming: worldwide, one in four adults and one in ten children suffer from a mental disorder on any given moment. Mental disorders not only cause considerable suffering, they also cause huge economic waste. Alarming is the modest success rates of current interventions for mental disorders: only about 40% of patients achieve sustained recovery. To achieve better treatments, we need to know more about the key processes that are crucial to long-term clinical improvement. Excellent researchers from diverse disciplines join forces and propose to study an exciting new and challenging view on mental disorders. Our vision is that mental illnesses are not caused by a common pathogenic pathway. Instead, mental illnesses are dynamic and complex networks of symptoms that interact with one another over time, driven by an elaborate group of behavioural, cognitive, neurocognitive and interpersonal processes that are transdiagnostic in nature. So far, these dynamic symptom interactions and transdiagnostic processes have not been integrated within one comprehensive framework of mental illness. This research programme aims to do exactly that: it offers a novel paradigm to understand mental illnesses alongside genuinely new possibilities for more effective treatments and is, therefore, a roadmap to healthier societies. Consortium. The current consortium is unique in the world: it connects 19 influential scientists (47% female) who have demonstrated an ability to lead and inspire research teams and to innovate their scientific fields. The 14 senior members of the current consortium are internationally leading and have excellent track records. They rank among the global top in their fields. They are joined by twelve gifted young scientists (five in the consortium) in various stages of their careers, and all with the potential to act at the forefront of science and to become international leaders. The continuity of this innovative research program is further promised by the creation of a Young Talent Program for optimal development of the next generation leaders. Research Program. The ultimate goal of our research is to advance psychological treatments, so that more effective interventions will serve as an essential part of our set of approaches that are needed to make an impact upon the burden of mental disorders worldwide. Our research program is organised into a matrix of six research teams and three coherent layers of research: mapping, zooming and targeting. The research teams are organised along specific transdiagnostic processes and not along single disorders. We propose a new and challenging view on the origin, maintenance and change of all mental disorders. Our vision is that mental illnesses are not caused by a common pathogenic pathway. Instead, mental illnesses are dynamic and complex networks of symptoms that interact with one another over time. We will focus on (1) the estimation of complex and dynamic networks of individual patients, which can change over time, (2) disorder-transcending network-based interventions tailored for the individual, and (3) in-depth fundamental studies into transdiagnostic behavioural, cognitive, neurocognitive and interpersonal processes that can drive connectivity between symptoms. Organization and management. We will set up a lean and effective organisational structure with good administration and management, to facilitate pleasant, effective and inspiring cooperation and to pave the way for real scientific breakthroughs. It is not only our ambition but also our duty to bring the acquired knowledge on better treatments for mental illnesses truly into the practice of mental health care. We will frequently interact with stakeholders; clinicians, patients, carers, funders, commissioners, managers, policy planners, change experts, and the general public all have a part to play in innovating psychological therapies, and a focus on any one of the ideas presented by our research team has the potential to bring about substantial and much-needed improvements. The ‘translation and communication’ team is led by a professional communication officer to achieve optimal use of acquired knowledge. We are also strongly focused on the development and training of a next generation of scientists to ensure the continuity of our research at top level and in the international forefront. To achieve this ambition, we start a talent development program that focuses on the training, mentoring and monitoring of young researchers, from promising young talents to young international leaders. We also enable Talent Tenure Tracks for midcareer scientists. In addition, and this is certainly not unimportant, we will offer a safe environment to stimulate our young talents’ growth and development into the next generation of leading researchers in our field. Main applicant Jansen is the intended scientific director, she has extensive experience in management.

In addition to the physical symptoms, 43-70% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) also face cognitive challenges, such as slowed information processing speed and memory problems, which significantly affect daily life. Interestingly, similar cognitive issues can arise in healthy women during menopause. This raises a critical question: how can we distinguish between cognitive symptoms caused by MS and those resulting from the menopausal transition? This project seeks to bridge this research gap by exploring cognitive functioning across different stages of menopause in women with and without MS. Ultimately, this pioneering work could pave the way for new, targeted cognitive interventions.