Research Rose Bruffaerts

Abstract

Owing to their high spatiotemporal resolution and non-invasive nature, (bio)medical imaging technologies have become key to understanding the complex structure and function of the nervous system in health and disease. Recognizing this unique potential, μNEURO has assembled the expertise of eight complementary research teams from three different faculties, capitalizing on advanced neuro-imaging tools across scales and model systems to accelerate high-impact fundamental and clinical neuro-research. Building on the multidisciplinary collaboration that has been successfully established since its inception (2020-2025), μNEURO (2026-2031) now intends to integrate and consolidate the synergy between its members to become an international focal point for true multidimensional neuroscience. Technologically, we envision enriching spatiotemporally resolved multimodal imaging datasets (advanced microscopy, MRI, PET, SPECT, CT) with functional read-outs (fMRI, EEG, MEG, electrophysiology, behaviour and clinical evaluation) and a molecular context (e.g., fluid biomarkers, genetic models, spatial omics) to achieve unprecedented insight into the nervous system and mechanisms of disease. Biologically, μNEURO spans a variety of neurological disorders including neurodegeneration, movement disorders, spinal cord and traumatic brain injury, glioblastoma and peripheral neuropathies, which are investigated in a variety of complementary model systems ranging from healthy control and patient-derived organoids and assembloids to fruit flies, rodents, and humans. With close collaboration between fundamental and preclinical research teams, method developers, and clinical departments at the University Hospital Antwerp (UZA), μNEURO effectively encompasses a fully translational platform for bench-to-bedside research. Now that we have intensified the interaction, in the next phase, μNEURO intends to formalize the integration by securing additional large-scale international research projects, by promoting the interaction between its members and core facilities and by fuelling high-risk-high-gain research within the hub and beyond. This way, μNEURO will foster breakthroughs for the neuroscience community. In addition, by focusing on technological and biological innovations that will streamline the translational pipeline for discovery and validation of novel biomarkers and therapeutic compounds, μNEURO aims to generate a long-term societal impact on the growing burden of rare and common diseases of the nervous system, connecting to key research priorities of the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and Europe.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Sijbers Jan
• Co-promoter: Baets Jonathan
• Co-promoter: Bertoglio Daniele
• Co-promoter: Bruffaerts Rose
• Co-promoter: De Vos Winnok
• Co-promoter: Ellender Tommas
• Co-promoter: Kumar-Singh Samir
• Co-promoter: Snoeckx Annemiek
• Co-promoter: Stroobants Sigrid
• Co-promoter: Timmerman Vincent
• Co-promoter: Van Dyck Pieter
• Co-promoter: Verhoye Marleen

Research team(s)

• Vision lab

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Early and reliable diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is paramount from a clinical point of view, to provide accurate information about the cause of a patient's symptoms and their prognosis. Fluid- and PET-based biomarkers are reliable tools for early diagnosis of AD, but they entail invasive, costly procedures and are not easily accessible to all clinicians. Here, we advocate the development of a new and reliable neurophysiological marker as a suitable triage tool to identify patients with cognitive complaints who are at high risk for AD or FTD. Functional changes, which can be measured using high-density Electroencephalography (hd-EEG), precede structural changes of the brain. Our focus is on characterizing functional changes related to higher-order cognitive abilities which are relevant for the activities of daily living such as mental flexibility, reasoning and communication. We here introduce a novel hd-EEG approach to assess the early functional changes at the individual level. Studying neurophysiological changes at the individual level is necessary for clinical implementation, where markers need to be reliable at the single-patient level. Theoretically, the impact of interindividual differences on cognitive decline has received much attention in the past decade. The concept of cognitive reserve reflects the flexibility of cognitive processes that helps to explain the differential susceptibility of day-to-day-function to the effects of neurodegenerative diseases on the brain. Fluid intelligence (correlating with one's capacity for mental flexibility and reasoning) has been proposed as a proxy for cognitive reserve. In this proposal, we will acquire hd-EEG during paradigms testing fluid intelligence and language in a cohort of patients with neurodegenerative disease (biomarker-proven AD, and non-AD pathologies such as FTD) as well as controls. We previously demonstrated in older adults that larger task-related neurophysiological signal changes measured using magnetoencephalography are linked to better cognitive performance. In this project, we validate our approach using hd-EEG and test whether we can identify patients with neurodegenerative disease using single-case statistics to validate our neurophysiological marker for use in clinical practice. The scientific innovation of this project firstly lies in the translation of recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience to clinical practice for use at the level of a single individual, combined with methodological advances regarding the acquisition and analysis of hd-EEG. Our goal is ultimately to optimize the clinical diagnostic pathway for neurodegeneration, by identifying some individuals as low-risk and providing reassurance to these patients, while prioritizing patients with a high risk of neurodegeneration for more invasive diagnostic procedures. In the future, neurophysiological markers could help to efficiently identify individuals who may benefit from disease-modifying therapy in a clinical trial.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Bruffaerts Rose
• Fellow: De Keulenaer Stéphanie

Research team(s)

• Experimental Neurobiology Unit (ENU)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Early and reliable diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) is paramount from a clinical point of view, to provide accurate information about the cause of a patient's symptoms and their prognosis. Fluid- and PET-based biomarkers are reliable tools for early diagnosis of AD, but they entail invasive, costly procedures and are not easily accessible to all clinicians. Here, we advocate the development of a new and reliable neurophysiological marker as a suitable triage tool to identify patients with cognitive complaints who are at high risk for AD or FTD. Functional changes, which can be measured using high-density Electroencephalography (hd-EEG), precede structural changes of the brain. In this proposal, we examine hd-EEG in a cohort of patients with neurodegenerative disease (biomarker-proven AD, and non-AD pathologies such as FTD) as well as controls. We previously demonstrated in older adults using multivariate analysis that larger task-related neurophysiological signal changes measured using magnetoencephalography are linked to better cognitive performance. In this project, we validate our approach using hd-EEG and we will develop a multivariate marker reflecting the dynamic neural pattern across the whole brain at the individual level. Using this "neural fingerprint" we test whether we can identify patients with neurodegenerative disease using single-case statistics to validate our multivariate neurophysiological marker for use in clinical practice. The scientific innovation of this project firstly lies in the translation of recent discoveries in cognitive neuroscience to clinical practice for use at the level of a single individual, combined with methodological advances regarding the acquisition and analysis of hd-EEG. Our goal is ultimately to optimize the clinical diagnostic pathway for neurodegeneration, by identifying some individuals as low-risk and providing reassurance to these patients, while prioritizing patients with a high risk of neurodegeneration for more invasive diagnostic procedures. In the future, neurophysiological markers could help to efficiently identify individuals who may benefit from disease-modifying therapy in a clinical trial.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Bruffaerts Rose

Research team(s)

• Experimental Neurobiology Unit (ENU)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Language impairment often occurs early during the course of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Degeneration and severly impacts quality of life. Markers of speech and language may provide non-invasive and low-cost measures that could help diagnose and monitor neurodegenerative disorders. However, the clinical implementation of such markers is at present limited due to several challenges. First, some of these markers may prove language-specific and second, characterizing these markers can be time-consuming. Previously, we have demonstrated that some specific pathological patterns found in patients with Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) in Dutch, were similar to what has been observed in patients with FTD in English and German. In this pilot project in close collaboration with GENFI (the Genetic FTD Initiative), we further develop pen-and-paper tests and derive speech and language markers from connected speech in Dutch. We will identify markers that have the potential to generalize across different languages. Our goal is to characterize speech and language impairment in detail across different neurodegenerative diseases and provide clinically useful tools to improve patient care.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Bruffaerts Rose

Research team(s)

• Experimental Neurobiology Unit (ENU)

Project type(s)

• Research Project