The exposome of brain structure: a multivariate view (ExpoBrainStruct)

• Applicant: Professorin Sarah Genon, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 555010485

Our brain structure, in particular grey matter tissue, has been shown to relate to a range of endogenous (such as genetic background), external factors (such as environmental and life style factors like air pollution and diet) and factors resulting from their interaction (such as different biomedical factors like blood pressure). The sum of factors to which a human organism is exposed from in-utero life to late life is referred to as the exposome. Understanding how a range of factors altogether forming the exposome affect regional brain structure, is crucial to prevent and treat neurocognitive alterations in an aging population. In this project, we will use multivariate and machine learning approaches in a large population dataset to identify 1) how the pattern of brain structure relates to the exposome 2) whether the exposome can predict at the individual level a global indicator of brain structural health 3) whether the exposome can predict at the individual level the structure of the hippocampus, a key brain region. This project will hence reveal which brain structural pattern or network relates to the exposome and which biomedical, life style and sociodemographic factors play an important role on predicting individual brain structure. The ability to predict individual structural brain status from individual life style, general health and demographic information would in turn allow the prediction of the effect of a given pathology, such as Alzheimer’s disease, at the individual level for future studies.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants