Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "The role of the frontal cortex in cognitive control: Toward an integration of cognivitive psychology and brain imagine / Intentional and cognitive control of action" "Marcel Brass" "Department of Experimental psychology" "The aim of the project is to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive control processes. In particular we are interested in investigating voluntary aspects of cognitive control. A second research area is the role of verbal instructions for behavioural regulation. Finally, we will investigate the neural mechanisms underlying inhibitory control.- The project investigates the neural basis of cognitive control and intentional action. Furthermore, it investigates the neural mechanisme that are involved in the perception of intentional behaviour." "An intergenerational, cognitively enriched physical activity program for grandparents with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and their grandchildren." "Greet Cardon" "Department of Movement and Sports Sciences" "In 2018, about 50 million people were affected with dementia and this number is forecasted to triple by 2050. An important way to “curb this tidal wave of dementia” is to prevent cognitive decline in high-risk groups such as older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Recent work has shown that the combination of PA and cognitive activity may have beneficial effects on older adults’ cognitive health, but studying new and effective ways to do so in older adults with MCI is highly needed and of primary interest in dementia prevention. An intergenerational program (IGP) might be a promising and innovative way, involving old and young generations together in one program to promote health behaviors in both. Although IGPs has been frequently used and studied, only a few have used it to promote PA and most of them lack a theoretical basis or do not sufficiently meet the target groups’ needs. This project will develop and evaluate a novel IGP for older adults with MCI and their grandchildren, aiming to primarily improve cognitive, physical and psychosocial health in older adults with MCI and secondary in children. A theoretical framework will be used together with a co-creation approach for the intervention development. After pilot-testing, the effects will be evaluated in an RCT (with control and intervention group), measuring cognitive (CANTAB), physical (accelerometry) and psychological health (questionnaires) on pre- and post-test in older adults and their grandchildren." "What causes cognitive decline in chemotherapy treated cancer survivors? An integrative study using multi-model brain imaging, cognitive testing, measurement of stress & inflammatory biomarkers." "Stefan Sunaert" "Translational MRI" "Cognitive impairment has been recognized as a possible adverse effect of breast cancer and its treatment. The aim of the proposed project is to refine earlier findings of the neural correlates of chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment using multi-model PET-MRI imaging. This to visualize neuro- inflammation and specify white matter microstructural and functional brain connectivity changes in combination with in-depth neurocognitive testing and measurement of biomarkers reflecting peripheral inflammation.This is important to define biomarkers for therapy-induced cognitive impairment, to identify risk factors increasing vulnerability and to guide choices in cancer treatment and future development of drugs." "PACTAM: A longitudinal investigation of the dose-response relation between Physical Activity and CogniTive decline in older Adults with Mild cognitive impairment" "Greet Cardon" "Department of Movement and Sports Sciences" "In 2018, about 50 million people were affected with dementia and this number is forecasted to triple by 2050. An important way to “curb thistidal wave of dementia” is to prevent cognitive decline in high-risk groups such as people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). One ofthe key determinants for dementia prevention is physical activity as physical activity interventions have shown to improve cognition inMCI-patients. However, the key knowledge gap that prevents the implementation of physical activity recommendations for MCI-patients, is that the dose-response relation remains unknown. It is unknown which exposure to physical activity (i.e. frequency, intensity, time and type) in everyday life is associated with a decreased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. One of the main reasons for this knowledge gap is the absolute lack of longitudinal observational studies in a real-life setting that assess all components of physical activity, and that use appropriate measurements to assess physical activity and cognitive functioning. Therefore, the PACTAM study will study a cohort of 145 MCI-patients over a two-year period, with semiannual measurements of physical activity (accelerometer and daily questionnaires for seven consecutive days) and cognitive functioning (CANTAB). The aim is to clarify which exposure to physical activity (i.e. frequency, intensity, time and type) is associated with reduced cognitive decline over time." "CoReAD - Cognitive Research in AD - Towards a model determining cognitive load in audio described audio(-visual) products." "Gert Vercauteren" "Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies (TricS)" "Inclusion and accessibility are higher on Europe's political and social agenda than ever before, and this has led broadcasters, film houses but also theatres and museums to start developing services to give people with disabilities access to their products and events. For blind and partially sighted people, audio description (AD) has been created, a service that describes visual and unclear sound elements for the visually impaired, so that they too know what is happening on screen or on stage. Within the academic discipline of translation studies, this evolution has given rise to the emergence of a new field of research, namely media accessibility. As far as audio description is concerned, research was initially focused on the question what should I to describe, and how should I describe (and present) it. One issue that has received much less attention so far is the effect that these audio descriptions have on the target audience, especially in terms of the cognitive load they induce.CoRe AD wants to lay a solid foundation for cognitive research within media accessibility/audio description. Its primary aim is to investigate which (auditory) features in an audio described film or television programme contribute to the cognitive load imposed on the target audience. In a second phase, the project aims to create a model that researchers and audio describers can use to analyze what cognitive load specific audio descriptions induce and that hands them a tool to reduce/optimize that cognitive load. Finally, the usefulness of the model will be tested in a small-scale pilot study." "Mapping the interplay between cognitive biases and impaired reappraisal: An integrative approach towards understanding cognitive risk factors for depression. " "Ernst Koster" "Department of Experimental clinical and health psychology" "Depression is among the most debilitating of all mental disorders. Understanding its multifactorial nature presents one of the biggest challenges to improve the current treatments. Our project aims to advance this understanding by mapping the interplay among several key cognitive risk factors for depression. Under scrutiny are cognitive biases in attention, interpretation, and memory that result in the exaggerated processing of negative information and impaired reappraisal to reduce feelings of distress. In three research lines, we expand upon the novel idea that cognitive biases and reappraisal difficulties are highly interactive processes with reciprocal influences of mutual reinforcement. First, we aim to uncover the real-time dynamic interactions between cognitive biases. Second, we aim to reveal how single cognitive biases impair people’s ability to reappraise a stressful event and how impaired reappraisal in turn aggravates cognitive biases. Finally, we aim to unlock how multiple cognitive biases combine to impact reappraisal difficulties in people’s daily lives, and if persisting reappraisal difficulties further consolidate the network of cognitive biases. We utilize a unique combination of complementary and inventive research methods that are rooted in cognitive and clinical science. The knowledge gained of this research will help to formulate better, more complete theoretical models of depression and will guide future developments to improve clinical interventions. " "The secrets of cognitive aging: Investigating neural information flows underlying cognitive performance in elderly   " "Daniele Marinazzo" "Department of Data-analysis" "The aim of the project is to study the causal influences among brain regions that underlie cognitive changes and stability in healthy elderly and elderly suffering from dementia. We aim to apply highly-advanced data-analytical methods that have a high biologically plausibility.   " "Cognitive vulnerability to recurrent depression and the default mode network: a cognitive neuroscience investigation" "Ernst Koster" "Department of Experimental clinical and health psychology" "A substantial proportion of remitted depressed individuals will experience the recurrence of depressive episodes. It is thought that depressive episodes are associated with a decline in cognitive control that causes emotion regulation impairments. This hypothesis is investigated using cognitive neuroscience methodology examining functional connectivity of cognition and emotion interactions in the brain in resting state." "ACT now!: Auditory Cognitive Testing to optimize hearing aid benefit" "Hannah Keppler" "Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences" "The goal of the this research is to optimize hearing aid benefit taking into account the interaction between auditory periphery and more high-order cognitive functioning. It is focused on first, hearing outcome measures leading to insights with regard to speech understanding and listening effort, and second, the fitting and users of hearing aids leading to evidence-based recommendations." "Quality indicators of quality of life and care for people with cognitive problems, including dementia mainly and staying in a nursing home." "Chantal Van Audenhove" "LUCAS - Centre for Care Research and Consultancy, Academic Center for General Practice" "The Flemish government supports and facilitates the quality policy of Flemish residential care centers. The Flemish residential care centers provide the instruments that support their internal quality policy with the Flemish housing care centers. The residential care centers have since 2013 registered a number of themes that are being processed into quality indicators about ""quality of care and safety"" (eg decubitus, fall incidents) and about quality of care providers and care organization (eg absenteeism). In addition, there has been a survey of residents of residential care centers about their quality of life since 2014, how they experience various aspects of living and living in a residential care center."