Kick-off ICNS-consortium: collaborating on a new molecular brain atlas

Yesterday marked the launch of the ICNS Consortium (Institute for Chemical Neuroscience), an ambitious collaboration aimed at unravelling the molecular mechanisms behind psychiatric disorders. The event brought together scientists, clinicians, and experts by experience, all united by a common mission: the search for new approaches to diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

Urgent problem, new approach

Globally, psychiatric disorders belong to the most urgent health challenges, but the molecular causes remain largely unknown. In contrast to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease, where clear changes in the brain can be observed, landmarks to understand the progression of the disease in psychiatric disorders are often missing. This has resulted in a lack of biomarkers, diagnostic tools, and effective treatments.

Stronger together

The ICNS-consortium wants to address these challenges with an innovative approach that combines disciplines including neurosciences, chemistry, psychiatry and computational biology. By examining and analysing high-quality brain tissue and medical history from deceased donors with multi-omics techniques, artificial intelligence and new chemical tools, we are working towards a molecular brain atlas of psychiatric symptoms.

Broad approach

The programme included presentations about, among others, the Netherlands Brain bank, the Dutch Neurogenetic-database, building a molecular brain atlas, neuro-inflammation, advanced chemical tools, and models that can be used to validate specific targets. In addition, the expert by experience gave an impressive session by sharing his lifelong battle with depression. He emphasised the need for researchers to look, not only at data, but especially at the people behind the numbers. His message: “don’t focus too much on what you’re doing, but who you’re doing it for.”

Looking foward

Using a unique combination of high-quality data, innovative techniques, and focus on collaboration, the ICNS-consortium aims to cultivate a revolution in our understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders. In the coming years, the consortium will focus on strengthening the donor data, building a molecular brain atlas, and testing the potential targets in modelling systems.

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