Skip to main content
Research and innovation

Brain research

EU support for research and innovation in the area of the brain

Brain disorders are one of the greatest health challenges. Around 165 million Europeans are living with a brain disorder. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people will suffer from a neurological and/or mental disorder at some point in their lives.

The global cost to European healthcare budgets is estimated to be €800 billion per year, and this is expected to increase further as Europe’s population ages and becomes more susceptible to brain disorders.

Brain disorders include neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and other disorders like epilepsy, depression, stroke, migraine, sleep disorders, traumatic brain injury, pain syndromes and addiction.

Many of these disorders are highly debilitating and have no cure. Others can be managed but still have wide-ranging effects on the quality of life of patients and their carers.

Tackling brain health challenges is beyond the scope and resources of any single country and must be addressed collectively. There is a need for considerable effort in terms of funding and better coordination of research among European countries and beyond, as well as between academia and industry.

The European Commission supports brain research through its research and innovation framework programmes. The investments made have been directed at better understanding brain function and dysfunction, developing methods for diagnosis and monitoring, prevention, treatment as well as care and support.

Funding opportunities

Horizon Europe

Funding for health under the research and innovation framework programme, Horizon Europe

Projects and results

Collaboration and jobs

Find project partners

Look for project partners and view profiles of all organisations that have received funding via the funding and tender opportunities portal

Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND)

EU Joint Programme which is the largest global research initiative aimed at tackling the challenge of neurodegenerative diseases. JPND involves 30 countries that strive to align their national priorities in brain research

Traumatic Brain Injury Research (InTBIR)

The Commission cooperates with the US and Canada in InTBIR allowing researchers in Europe and North America to work together for better treatment of traumatic brain injury

ERA-NET NEURON

The Commission supports the ERA-NET NEURON partnership, which supports basic, clinical and translational research in diverse fields of disease-related neuroscience

Innovative Health Initiative

Public-private partnership supported by the European Commission that also invests in research in neurodegenerative diseases

Human Brain Project

EU-funded project that aims to put in place a cutting-edge research infrastructure that will allow our knowledge to advance in the fields of neuroscience, computing, and brain-related medicine

Global Alliance on Chronic Diseases (GACD)

Alliance supported by the EU with a focus on implementation research and a call in 2017 on mental disorders targeting low and middle income countries and vulnerable populations in high income countries

Scientific publications, tools and databases

Horizon dashboard

Interactive reporting platform, composed of a set of sheets that allows series of views to discover and filter data from the EU's reserach programmes

Health programmes database

Database that provides information on the nature of health projects and their results. Managed by the Commission's Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency

EU Open Data Portal

Single point of access to open data produced by the EU institutions. All data free to use for commercial and non-commercial purposes

OpenAIRE

You can access all scientific publications from Horizon 2020 via OpenAIRE