View clinical trials related to Neuroimaging.
Filter by:This study is intended to examine the impact of learning amyloid brain imaging results among asymptomatic older adults, and how to safely communicate these results and educate on the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
The purpose of the study is to better define and understand the brain mechanisms related to emotional and cognitive dimensions using odorous stimuli, gustatory stimuli, visual stimuli and auditory stimuli using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).
Progress in resuscitation has increased the chances of survival after anoxic or traumatic brain injury. More and more patients with severe cerebral damages are resuscitated but upon awakening from coma, some patients remain in a state which cannot be qualified as conscious and is now known as an unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS; formerly known as vegetative state). This condition can be transitory and evolve towards recovery, or remain chronic and lasting for years. To improve the diagnosis of patients with disorders of consciousness, recent advances in brain imaging have led to the development of new methods of detecting awareness. In the absence of overt behavioral responses from these patients, imaging-based diagnostic methods have been first used to assess whether some cerebral areas were preserved in UWS patients and showed an activation of the primary sensory cortices in some UWS patients, whether it occurs at the auditory, visual or somatosensory level. Unavoidable technical and ethical issues are raised for clinicians before responding to such requests: 1. Is it technically possible to generalize neuroimaging protocols to all healthcare institutions? 2. Is it ethically acceptable to propose neuroimaging protocols without an accurate estimation of their psychological impact on families and caregivers? The present study aims to understand and anticipate the technical and ethical issues related to an evaluation of consciousness with functional neuroimaging. How the evaluation of awareness in a patient affects the caregivers and family members will be investigated. By using qualitative research hopes and expectations will be clarified through the experiences of families, clinicians and nurses faced to this situation. Will be included in this research professional caregivers and persons closely related to UWS patients: - Family members or close circle visiting the patients on a regular basis - Referring clinicians - Nurses in charge of the patients' care This prospective study uses qualitative, interview-based, research. Two key-moments are explored in succession to examine the impact of a neuroimaging evaluation of consciousness in institutionalized UWS patients: - interviews of professional caregivers and families about their hopes concerning the evaluation of consciousness of UWS patients, - interviews of professional caregivers and families about the impact of evaluating consciousness on their beliefs
Methamphetamine (MA) is a psychostimulant drug with high abuse potential. MA can be smoked, snorted, injected or ingested orally to produce a release of high levels of dopamine into the brain and reduction of dopamine uptake. Its use results in feelings of pleasure, increased energy, and greater alertness lasting up to 12 hours. In 2010, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 353,000 Americans aged 12 or older reported being current MA users. Over the past decade MA use rates have fluctuated with current use rates on the decline; however, importantly, even though overall use rates are declining, use rates among males and females are approaching equal proportions. This use rate pattern is unlike other drugs of abuse, which typically demonstrate males using more than females. In some states, more females than males consider MA as their drug of choice. Namely, in a 2010 report in the state of Utah, more females were diagnosed with MA as a primary substance of abuse than males upon admission to treatment. Depression and MA use are highly comorbid. The relationship between MA use and depression is likely bidirectional, with MA use causing changes in mood and being used as a self-medicating behavior to reduce symptoms of depression. Several studies have shown that depression rates are higher in MA-using females compared to their male counterparts. It is likely that neurobiological and psychosocial mechanisms contribute to increased incidence of depressive symptoms in females. No clear treatment model exists to suggest how the comorbidity of depression and MA use is best managed. In studies of antidepressants for treatment of MA withdrawal and dependence, findings have suggested that antidepressants are ineffective for treating depressive symptoms. Creatine is an organic acid occurring naturally in vertebrates, where it takes part in energy homeostasis in tissues with fluctuating energy demands. Exogenous creatine has been shown to increase brain concentrations of PCr. Neuroimaging studies of creatine have shown increased brain phosphocreatine (PCr) content with creatine administration. Therefore, we hypothesize that oral creatine administration will increase PCr levels and reduce depressive symptoms in a sample of depressed female MA users. This hypothesis will be tested by a within subjects design by giving depressed MA using females oral creatine for eight weeks and measuring PCr pre- and post-treatment with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Moreover, depressive symptoms will be measured by administration of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale twice weekly during the course of creatine treatment.