About NEURON

There is little doubt that the maintenance and restoration of health are highly valued and fundamental to citizens in all countries. Among the many diseases affecting health, brain disorders are major causes for impaired quality of life. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, more than one billion people suffer from disorders of the central nervous system (WHO 2001). In Europe, approximately one-third of all burden of disease is caused by brain diseases. With increasing average life-expectancy, especially in highly industrialized countries, and with the rapidly growing incidence of neurodegenerative diseases this percentage will rise even further. Neuroscience research and its translation into diagnostic and therapeutic measures are therefore a high priority, and form an important basis for the improvement of healthy living.

This fact is clearly recognized by health research policy makers, and is reflected in the considerable amount of money allocated to the support of neurological and psychiatric research. However, while the cooperation level among research institutions in the various European countries appears satisfactory, clear deficiencies are present with regard to the coordination of respective research funding. Funding activities are fragmented and scattered at national and regional levels, and only few approaches have been undertaken to phase them. Thus, the coordination of national and regional funding programs can improve efficient use of high but still limited resources, and increase their impact. Coordinated funding activities can avoid redundancy, fill gaps, and use synergies.

Specific Support Action (SSA) NEURON
Funded October 2003 - December 2004 by the European Commission, the pilot Specific Support Action (SSA) NEURON prepared the grounds for linking European national research funding programmes in the field of disease-related neuroscience.  
 

A publication by the European Commission Directorate-General for Research: Coordination of Research Activities (Series I of ERA-NET - Networking the European Research Area). The full brochure can be found at: http://www.cordis.lu/coordination/era-net.htm