FOod and COgnition Model systems (FOCOM, WP4)

Description

The mission of the public-private collaboration in FOCOM is to achieve innovative breakthroughs in our knowledge about how food and the brain influence each other. This could lead to novel ways to enable early diagnosis of age-related disorders (e.g., cognitive decline) and other brain disorders, as well as efficient monitoring of (nutritional) intervention success.

Central in FOCOM is the development of predictive model systems that, after validation on high-quality equipment (such as MRI, available at the Donders Institute and WUR), are translated in a number of dedicated, low cost behavioral and brain observation techniques (provided by Noldus IT, TMSi, and Artinis). These model systems will integrate the right functions for testing and evaluation and can contribute to more effective product development.

The partners possess knowledge about food and nutrition and brain mechanisms relating to cognition. The interaction between food products and the corresponding brain responses combined with recent technological breakthroughs can deliver a new generation of products and services with a big economical and societal impact, especially in the current ageing society.

For FOCOM products such as the Cognition Test, please visit the website below.

Start – end date

2012-2016

Funding source

EFRO (European Regional Development Fund)

Partners