The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

An additional SEK 50 million to research on the brain’s mechanisms

Henrik Jörntell (Photo: Ingemar Hultquist)
Henrik Jörntell (Photo: Ingemar Hultquist)

A European consortium, led from Lund University, is to receive SEK 50 million from the EU for research which is to develop our understanding of the functional mechanisms of the brain. The research project, called INTUITIVE, is one of the Innovative Training Networks within the framework of Horizon 2020.

The aim of the project is to develop user interfaces based on touch that feel more intuitive than what is currently available in smartphones for example. The brain research contributes knowledge of how the brain preferably interacts under different touch conditions and the technology contributes by developing the interfaces.

“This gives us a further opportunity to develop our understanding of how the brain works, as active touch is a fundamental building block for the brain to learn about our perceptions of what the world around us is and what properties it have”, says Henrik Jörntell, associate professor of neuroscience, who is leading the research project.


By developing technology that creates illusions of real experiences, the researchers in INTUITIVE are convinced that they will produce an excellent basis for more in-depth insights with regard to the mechanisms behind the brain’s functions – something they have been working on intensively in recent years.

“Eventually, these kinds of deep insights also provide very important understanding of what exactly goes wrong in the various diseases of the brain, which can lead to dramatic improvements in possible treatments”, says Henrik Jörntell.

During 2019, Henrik Jörntell has been awarded a total of just over SEK 80 million by the EU as a coordinator for two European research projects within the framework of Horizon 2020:

-  SEK 50 million for the current EU project INTUITIVE, an Innovative Training Network programme involving researchers from Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Iceland and Belgium.

- SEK 32 million for an EU project within Future Emerging Technology called ph-coding involving researchers from Sweden, the United Kingdom and France.

Horizon 2020 is the EU’s framework programme for research and innovation. The programme is the world’s largest investment in research and innovation with a total budget of around EUR 80 billion.