Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : AfDevLives (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : Institut universitaire de Lisbonne — Pays : Portugal — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : ISCTE
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 945496.04 €

International development involves ideologies and activities ostensibly directed towards the improvement of well-being of populations in the Global South. Mainstream development interventions emphasize forward-looking ideas of progress and advocate for novelty. In so doing, however, the sector is often myopic, as evidenced by countless unintended consequences that stretch beyond interventions' official life cycle. Whether deemed success or failure, such interventions leave behind a long trail of tangible and intangible traces. Project AfDevLives explores how development interventions' representational and material remains are experienced, employed, and re-appropriated by local actors over time, and how such active immanence of the past affects people's life-worlds. It weaves together three temporal gazes: prospective (development's blueprints); retrospective (sediments of the past, shorthanded as interventions' 'afterlives'); and present-time lived experience. Consciously de-centering formal development discourse and temporalities, the project develops and applies a phenomenological framework oriented around embodiment and intertwinement of people, objects, and space. Using an interdisciplinary approach centered on social anthropology, research will be conducted in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique, neighbouring Eastern African countries that are among the highest recipients of development aid and whose past and present balance continuities and ruptures. The project will unfold via an iterative process involving four complementary work packages: Movement, Image, Storytelling, and Synthesis. Working across work packages, countries, and case studies, the project will pursue three categories of objectives: conceptual (methodological toolkit), empirical (based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork), and practical (aimed at the development sector, local heirs of interventions, and the public at large). The project will result in a robust set of outputs.

Mots-clés : international development,development interventions,afterlives,phenomenology,eastern africa,ruination
Projet ERC : REPRESENT (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Compl exity
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 753500.0 €

Thinking about the world–what is and what might be–is fundamental to human life. The foundation for this world-understanding is laid in the preschool years of childhood. Around the age of 4, children begin to reason not only about the real world but also about what is possible or what people believe about the world. The acquisition of these abstract representations of the world is reflected in a major developmental breakthrough across domains of human cognition. The mechanisms that drive this breakthrough, however, are unknown. REPRESENT aims to clarify the cognitive and neural foundation of how we, in early childhood, come to represent the world in abstract terms. Based on novel findings, I propose that the maturation of a core network of the human brain–the Default Mode Network–allows children to decouple representations from sensory input and thus entertain several different representations of the world simultaneously. Increased connectivity to prefrontal regions and coupling to other cognitive networks are proposed to enable children to compute the relation between these representations, providing the foundation for abstract reasoning. REPRESENT will, for the first time, connect multivariate and connectivity methods in early childhood combined with novel task designs to reveal the precise neural representations that underlie reasoning about (a) different beliefs and (b) possibilities and their functional interplay in maturing networks of the brain. WP1 targets change in these representations and networks in preschool-age as mature abstract reasoning emerges. WP2 aims to reveal how infants, compared to preschoolers, represent situations involving multiple beliefs or possibilities. This new approach will allow REPRESENT to resolve longstanding questions of how uniquely human abstract thought develops, and how it is implemented in the human brain. This has myriad implications for developmental and cognitive theory, and for our understanding of the human brain.

Mots-clés : early childhood cognitive development brain maturation default mode network developmental cognitive neuroscience theory of mind possibility reasoning
Projet ERC : SynPrePro (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Compl exity
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 300375.0 €

Humans effortlessly process over 200 spoken words per minute in casual conversation. Speech recognition algorithms still fail at this challenging task. Our superior performance stems from our capacity to predict what the speaker may say next. Understanding how the brain uses these predictions to process the sensory input is crucial to understand perceptual function and dysfunction: dyslexia, autism and psychosis have all been linked to an impaired handling of predictions. Hierarchical predictive coding (HPC) is the current leading framework to understand how predictions help us processing sensory inputs. However, HPC is only compatible with the function and organisation of the cerebral cortex. This is a decisive shortcoming: while only cortical stages have the foresight to perform conceptually accurate predictions, only subcortical stations have the temporal properties required to correctly process fast sensory inputs. SynPrePro will reformulate HPC as an integrated theory explaining how cortical and subcortical stages work together to proficiently process fast and complex sensory inputs like speech. I will use a unique experimental-theoretical approach to study the human auditory pathway as a model for sensory pathways in four work packages (WPs). WP1 will use cutting-edge human neuroimaging to unravel the implementation of HPC in the auditory pathway. WP2 will use innovative model-based neuroimaging to identify the mechanisms responsible for the generation of conceptually accurate and temporally precise predictions. In WP3 I will develop a ground-breaking computational model to identify the neural mechanisms implementing HPC in the thalamocortical loop. WP4 will use big-data analytics to disentangle how cortical and subcortical stages work together to swiftly process speech. The outcomes will turn the cortical paradigm of HPC into an integrated theory of cortico-subcortical interactions, revolutionising our understanding of perceptual function and dysfunction.

Mots-clés : auditory perception,thalamocortical interactions,predictive coding
Projet ERC : Com2Civ (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems
Entité participante : Institut de recherche pour la paix — Pays : Norvège — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : PRIO
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499981.0 €

In 2023, the number of conflicts reached its highest level since 1946, making it one of the most violent years on record. Many of these conflicts were recurring, suggesting that efforts to reintegrate ex-combatants from non-state groups have largely been unsuccessful. While most research on reintegration has focused on its economic and political aspects, it has overlooked the role and impact of one of the most universal activities in human social life: rituals.  The overall objective of Com2Civ is to explain how rituals influence the social reintegration of ex-combatants, both positively and negatively. To achieve this, Com2Civ has two sub-objectives: to (1) develop a theory on how rituals influence individuals’ socialization into combatant identities and, after demobilization, into civilian identities; and (2) generate new evidence on the impact of rituals on social reintegration trajectories through a novel combination of research methods.  Rituals are notoriously difficult to study and collect systematic data on. To overcome these challenges, Com2Civ adopts two strategies. First, it takes a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on insights from political science, social psychology, anthropology, and gender studies. Second, it employs an innovative combination of life history interviews, surveys, and the social cartography method. These will be implemented in a participatory research design involving ex-combatants from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) in Colombia.  Importantly, Com2Civ will reveal the social-psychological mechanisms involved in combatant-to-civilian transformation processes, contributing to scientific efforts aimed at understanding the mechanisms of conflict prevention. Com2Civ results will appear in major multidisciplinary journals, advancing the field in at least four disciplines.

Mots-clés : disarmament,demobilization,reintegration ddr,rituals
Projet ERC : BEE_GEMS (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Environmental B iology, Ecology  and E volution
Entité participante : Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine — Pays : Portugal — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : GIMM
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1128020.84 €

The gut microbiome is essential for the wellbeing of many animals including humans and bees. However, the genetic factors that enable stable, healthy microbiomes remain poorly understood. In particular, little is known about how different members of a gut microbial community communicate and interact with one another, both at the molecular level (which genes underlie the interactions) and the ecological level (how these genes are distributed across populations). Due to the complexity of most gut microbiomes, previous work in this field has largely been limited to in vitro studies using simplified, synthetic communities. In contrast, the core aim of this project is a systematic analysis of microbial interaction mechanisms at both the molecular and ecological levels. Unlike other systems, we can culture all members of the bee gut microbiome and have recently developed genetic tools for their manipulation. I will leverage these unique advantages, together with my expertise in social bees (honey bees, bumble bees) and microbial genetics, in an integrative approach to fulfil the project objectives. Work Package 1 will reveal the genes underlying pairwise intermicrobial interactions though unbiased in vitro and in vivo transcriptomics and proteomics. These genes, together with candidates I previously identified (secretion systems and toxin genes), will be investigated in detail using genetic and biochemical methods to uncover their mechanisms of action and novel functions. Work Package 2 will clarify how these interactions play out across populations by assessing variation of interaction genes with ecological factors (geography, host background), and by probing the evolutionary forces that lead to these variations. Our findings will contribute empirically to identifying the general principles behind microbiome assembly and function, which has broad implications across all fields where microbiomes play important roles including in agriculture, medicine, and biotechnology.

Mots-clés : microbiology,entomology
Projet ERC : MicrobiotaNeuroTalk (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine — Pays : Portugal — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : GIMM
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1730397.18 €

The gut-brain axis has emerged as a complex regulator of system-wide physiology, playing essential roles to maintain homeostasis, including contributions to brain development and activity, affecting host metabolism and behavior. The gut bacterial composition constantly fluctuates, allowing for the regular release of diverse microbe-derived compounds into the bloodstream. Although it is known that many gut-bacterial metabolites affect distant organs such as the brain, their direct interaction with brain neurons is rarely demonstrated. The impact of microbial metabolites on brain mechanisms are generally thought to be indirect due to interaction with, for example, the immune system or the vagus nerve. However, my previous work has shown that microbe-derived muropeptides reach the brain and decrease the spontaneous activity of brain neurons that express the Nod2 receptor. Remarkably, this direct interaction affected appetite and thermoregulation in a sex- and age-dependent fashion. Nevertheless, to further understand these direct interactions, some questions still need to be addressed: how does this compound reach the brain? Which factors may lead to this sex- and age-dependent neuronal activation? Are there other neuroactive bacterial compounds directly affecting brain neurons? Therefore, using interdisciplinary approaches, I propose to (1) unravel gut-brain trafficking mechanisms, (2) define physiological factors (e.g. hormones) that shape this microbe-neuron interaction and (3) describe new bacterial compounds that affect hypothalamic circuits and their downstream effects. This proposal will expose novel aspects of host-microbe interactions, leading to a more complete and integrated understanding of bacterial influence on host’s essential functions. It may also lead to new therapeutic approaches for neurological disorders that exhibit specific sex prevalence and where the microbiota is a factor in disease susceptibility, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Mots-clés : gut brain axis neuroimmunology
Projet ERC : ISLANDLAB (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Study of the Human Past
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1308093.76 €

Humans are fragmenting ecosystems into habitat 'islands', causing an unprecedented global collapse of large mammal populations just as science is discovering their essential ecological roles. The impact of these losses is such that our understanding of the contemporary biosphere is clearly shaped by a world artificially depleted of terrestrial giants. However, the causes of megafaunal extinctions over a much deeper, >50,000-year timeframe remain strongly contested. How did specific anthropogenic and/or climate factors interact to transform and collapse megafaunal ecosystems and what implications did this have for human societies at different points in time? The feedbacks and ecological legacies of these older extinctions have important lessons for the current biodiversity crisis, yet the dearth of good quality fossil and contextual data from many regions, settings and species has prevented robust appraisal. ISLANDLAB will explore these questions using the Maltese Islands as a frame of reference for the effects of anthropogenic ecosystem fragmentation. Pilot work has already uncovered an unprecedented deep-time record of pristine natural systems successively interrupted by waves of humans. Direct interaction between humans and the endemic megafauna begins with a likely Neanderthal presence and ends with the first monumental civilizations, with exponential losses and subsequent faunal reintroductions lasting until the mid-Holocene. By building high-resolution ecological, climatic, and archaeological characterisations of Malta before and after human arrival and subsequent alteration of biotas, ISLANDLAB will therefore document long-term legacies and feedbacks between ecological changes, societal responses, and ecosystem resilience. More broadly, the results will shed light on extinction processes in current anthropogenic landscapes, elucidating the ecological and human dimensions of restoration pathways from an island paradigm at a pivot between Europe and Africa.

Mots-clés : human evolution,anthropocene,megafauna
Projet ERC : KNOW-THYSELF (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Human Mind and Its Compl exity
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499130.0 €

The functioning of societies and the quality of interpersonal relationships heavily depend on moral behaviors such as fairness, cooperation, and honesty, whereas immoral behaviors bear tremendous societal costs. A long-standing puzzle facing the social sciences and the humanities is how to promote moral behavior. The prevalent approach is to modify the situation, e.g., through implementing rewards for moral and sanctions for immoral behavior or through nudging. Community and organizational policies invariably resort to such interventions to foster moral action. However, situation-based approaches are distinctly limited: they inhibit more consistent behavior change that extends to situations where the intervention is absent, and they often fail or even backfire.  In KNOW-THYSELF, I pursue a person-centered approach that can more widely and sustainably promote moral behavior than existing approaches. I draw on a yet unexploited resource for desirable behavior change rooted in ancient Greek philosophy: self-knowledge, defined as an accurate representation of what one is like. In the moral domain in particular, self-knowledge is restricted by self-enhancement – the pervasive bias to see oneself more favorably than implied by one's actions. I propose that increasing self-knowledge about moral character can promote moral behavior across contexts and even give rise to long-term change of personality traits that underlie moral action.  Adopting a multi-disciplinary perspective and combining rigorous experiments with cutting-edge field methods (e.g., experience sampling), I address three key challenges: (1) How to advance self-knowledge most effectively (2) Increase self-knowledge to promote moral behavior (3) Increase self-knowledge to initiate long-term personality change  Tackling these challenges offers ground-breaking insights for theory, research, and practice into how self-knowledge can be advanced and utilized to boost moral behavior – in the short- and long-term.

Mots-clés : self knowledge moral behavior moral character moral identity self perception personality change prosocial behavior ethical behavior
Projet ERC : MANUNKIND (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Soci al World and Its Interactions
Entité participante : Société Max-Planck pour le développement des sciences — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : Société Max Planck
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1006811.5 €

Chattel slavery and other forms of collaborative exploitation are with us since ancient times, inflicting unfathomable suffering on countless generations of victims. And even though slavery is outlawed globally today, its modern-day successors continue to cause severe harm for millions.  Previous research has compiled rich datasets on the prevalence of collaborative exploitation across cultures and across time. A startling gap exists in the literature, however, with respect to modeling the fundamental incentive structures of collaborative exploitation and understanding the psychological processes involved. Hence, we do not understand well how the macro-level patterns and dynamics observable in the existing data emerge from micro-level traits, decisions, and behavior. Addressing this knowledge gap, this research proposal - analyzes collaborative exploitation as a strategic interaction between exploiters and exploited, - scrutinizes the psychological mechanisms and traits involved in exploitative interactions, and - traces how the aggregation of these micro-level components into macro-level patterns and dynamics is shaped by, and interacts with, the ecological, economic, and ideological conditions it is situated in.  In doing so, I develop, test, and disseminate a versatile game theoretic framework and corresponding new paradigms for behavioral experiments to advance the multidisciplinary study of collaborative exploitation. Being the first to apply rigorous formal modeling and transparent preregistered tests of theory-grounded hypotheses against experimental and archive data to understand collaborative exploitation, this proposal advances into uncharted territory. Thus, it breaks new ground for research in several disciplines and at multiple levels of analysis. Moreover, its results can inform policy-making aiming to end modern-day slavery and other contemporary forms of exploitation -- in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 8.

Mots-clés : exploitation forced labor slavery human trafficking economic oppression
Projet ERC : FICTA (Horizon Europe, appel 2025, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : Université de Parme — Pays : Italie — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1481523.0 €

Medieval philosophical and scientific language, for many centuries and across different traditions, has been overcrowded with entities and scenarios that are – or were thought to be – fictitious or utterly impossible. These are entities like chimeras, flying men, golden mountains, but also atoms, infinite lines, bodies moving in a void space or at an infinite speed. Incorporating these impossibilities in standard theories of inference, showing how impossible statements can be manageable through valid reasoning while producing interesting conclusions, is one of the greatest achievements of the medieval thought.  FICTA proposes an innovative, comparative and interdisciplinary approach to investigate the notion of impossibility and its epistemic value in medieval logic, philosophy and science. The project’s main aim is to systematically assess the various ways in which philosophers and scientists in the medieval and post-medieval period theorized the use of counterpossible reasoning – that is, reasoning involving entities, assumptions or scenarios that are physically, metaphysically, or logically impossible. The project also aims to explore the parallels between these historical developments and the thriving contemporary debate related to the use of impossibility, fiction and imagination for epistemic purposes. FICTA’s approach will cross disciplinary boundaries, intersecting the history of medieval and postmedieval logic, medieval literature and art; the history of medieval and early-modern science, and contemporary logic and epistemology.  The project’s guiding questions will be the following: How can we obtain new knowledge by starting from impossible assumptions? Which role do impossible entities and impossible assumptions have in the (history of) sciences and in our epistemic endeavor?

Mots-clés : medieval logic impossibility counterpossibles imagination thought experiments medieval philosophy fiction epistemology of fiction hypothetical reasoning reasoning style medieval literature medieval science history of science