Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Italy
History
The network was founded in 2016 by a group of researchers working between the disciplines of nutrition and mental health, many of whom have collaborated in EC-funded projects and have been active recently within ECNP. Our initial idea was directed towards a new level of understanding of the nutrition-brain axis by bridging diverse disciplines, focusing on disease areas for which eating behaviour and body weight disturbance are having a neurobiological origin. Recently, the network has contributed to a better understanding of the interaction between brain and body in mental health prevention/promotion.
Through the activities of our network, we have fostered new collaborations between researchers, clinicians and the food industry, and we are working towards better defining the science underpinning nutrition and brain health.
Goals
Identify new strategies (dietary, lifestyle, pharmacotherapy) to improve mental health in individuals who suffer from mood and other mental disorders.
Identify neural substrates and pathways that link diet with specific psychological constructs such as mood and neurocognitions (e.g. impulsivity, reward sensitivity).
Gain a mechanistic understanding of the afferent signaling systems such as hormones, genes, immune modulators and gut microbiota that link diet to these psychological constructs.
Clarify interactions between diet and pharmacotherapy (including side effects) for mental health and metabolic disease and combine dietary advise with pharmacotherapy to increase efficacy.
Provide an evidence base to support dietary policies and guidelines for improving mental health and for the treatment of eating disorders.
Foster new collaborations across the ECNP community and to facilitate career development of young researchers (early-mid career) through participation, support and training.
Form strong links with stakeholder groups (health and food policy makers, patient and care groups; pharmaceutical and food industry).
Initiate activities directed towards an increased public understanding of the importance of nutrition for mental health and to place this topic high on the agenda of the EU.
Core members
Member name | Institution | City | Country |
Roger Adan | University Medical Centre Utrecht | Utrecht | The Netherlands |
Inmaculada Baeza | University of Barcelona | Barcelona | Spain |
Eline van der Beek | Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences | Lutry | Switzerland |
John Cryan | University College Cork | Cork | Republic of Ireland |
Louise Dye | University of Leeds | Leeds | United Kingdom |
Tony Goldstone | Imperial College London | London | United Kingdom |
Philip Gorwood | Paris Descartes University - Sainte Anne Hospital | Paris | France |
Jaanus Harro | University of Tartu | Tartu | Estonia |
Johannes Hebebrand | University of Duisburg-Essen | Essen | Germany |
Lora Heisler | University of Aberdeen | Aberdeen | United Kingdom |
Suzanne Higgs | University of Birmingham | Birmingham | United Kingdom |
Aniko Korosi | University of Amsterdam | Amsterdam | The Netherlands |
Lars Libuda | University Hospital Essen | Essen | Germany |
Soyoung Q Park | German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) | Nuthetal | Germany |
Jochen Seitz | RWTH Aachen University | Aachen | Germany |
Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah | University Hospital Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Germany |
Sandrine Thuret | Kings College London | London | United Kingdom |
Odile Viltart | INSERM IPNP | Paris | France |
Shell members
Member name | Institution | City | Country |
José Manuel Fernández-Real | Biomedical Research Institute of Girona | Girona | Spain |
Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann | RWTH Aachen University | Aachen | Germany |
Silke Matura |
Goethe University Frankfurt |
Frankfurt |
Germany |
Emeritus members
Member name | Institution | City | Country |
Jan Buitelaar | Radboud University Nijmegen | Nijmegen | The Netherlands |
Early Career Academy member
Member name | Institution | City | Country |
Anna Krupa | Jagiellonian University Medical College Krakow | Krakow | Poland |
Publications
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2024Tolle et al.
To eat or not to eat: A role for ghrelin and LEAP2 in eating disorders?
Neuroscience Applied -
2024Di Lodovico et al.
What influences food choices in anorexia nervosa? Disentangling cognitive and emotional components of decision-making by translational research.
Neuroscience Applied -
2024Schneider et al.
Microbiota-gut-brain axis in binge-eating disorder: Towards microbiome-based therapies
Neuroscience Applied -
2025Higgs et al.
Policy Actions Required to Improve Nutrition for Brain Health.
Nutrition Reviews -
2024Kim et al.
The dynamic influence of nutrition on prolonged cognitive healthspan across the life course: A perspective review.
Neuroscience Applied -
2025Dickson et al.
Prioritizing brain health in youth: Bringing neuroscience to society and informing policy, lessons learnt from the European Brain Council expert meeting held at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Forum 2024.
European Journal of Neuroscience