View clinical trials related to fMRI.
Filter by:The study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of tVNS as a complementary approach for NT1 by conducting a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial. The specific objectives of the study were as follows: To evaluate the effects of complementary tVNS on the ability to maintain wakefulness, severity of narcolepsy, mood and quality of life in patients with NT1
The main objective of this project is: 1. To assess the impact of COVID-19 on the brain and executive functioning. Twenty adult subjects of UZ Brussels (volunteers), who needed intensive care due to COVID-19 (n=10) or exhibited mild symptoms due to COVID-19 (n=10), will be recruited after hospital discharge. After signing an informed consent the subjects will undergo brain scans (T1, DTI, SWI, DWI, FLAIR MRI and rsfMRI), an emotion regulation task and a neurocognitive test battery. The latter test battery will be performed using an iPad and will test different neurocognitive functions such as memory, abstract thinking, spatial orientation and attention. The duration of the test battery is 18min. The total duration of one trial is estimated at one hour and a half. All tests are planned at the department of Radiology-Magnetic Resonance (UZ Brussel). After three months patients will visit the department of Radiology-Magnetic Resonance a second time for the same experimental trial. Additionally, a matched control group (n = 20; non covid or ICU patients) will be included and undergo the same tests in order to compare the results of the brain scans, emotional regulation task and neurocognitive test battery with results of both Covid-groups. Next to objective data, questionnaires will be filled out, i.e. visual analogue scales of mental and physical fatigue, Profile of Mood States and some additional return to work questions.
This study was designed as randomized double blind placebo study to investigate the efficacy of Erinacine A-enriched Hericium erinaceus mycelia for improvement of recognition, vision, and functional MRI alterations.
The proposed research will follow healthy weight children who vary by family risk for obesity to identify the neurobiological and appetitive traits that are implicated in overeating and weight gain during the critical pre-adolescent period. The investigator's central hypothesis is that increased intake from large portions of energy dense foods is due in part to reduced activity in brain regions implicated in inhibitory control and decision making, combined with increased activity in reward processing pathways. To test this hypothesis, the investigators will recruit 120 healthy weight children, aged 7-8 years, at two levels of obesity risk (i.e., 60 high-risk and 60 low-risk) based on parent weight status. This will result in 240 participants: 120 children and their parents.
Background: - People who are dependent on alcohol drink even when they know something bad might happen. Researchers want to learn more about why they do this. Objectives: - To study brain response when a person plays a game in different threat conditions. Eligibility: - Healthy right-handed adult heavy drinkers age 21 60 - Healthy right-handed adult light drinkers age 21 60 Design: - Participants will be screened with medical history, physical exam, and blood and urine tests. They will have an EKG and psychiatric interview. - Participants will have one or two clinic visits. - Participants will be asked about their alcohol drinking. - They will choose a snack and alcoholic beverage that they must drink in 5 minutes. After their breath alcohol content (BrAC) is zero, they will play a game in the MRI scanner. - The scanner is a metal cylinder that takes pictures of the brain. Participants lie on a table that slides in and out of the cylinder. They will be in it for about 90 minutes, lying still for up to 20 minutes. - During the MRI, participants will play a simple computer game to earn food or drink points under different threats of electric shock. Points can be exchanged for food or alcohol after the game. Sometimes, participants will receive a mild electric shock through a metal disk on the wrist. Electric shocks will only happen if the participant tries to earn a reward point. - After the MRI, participants use their points for another drink and snack. They will stay at the clinic until their BrAC is low, usually within 3 hours. Participants cannot drive themselves home. - Participants will have a follow-up phone call the next day.
Background: - Ghrelin is a hormone in the human body that is mostly produced by the stomach. It makes people feel hungry, and also is connected with the desire to drink alcohol. Researchers want to test ghrelin to see if it can be used to control alcohol cravings and use. They will compare doses of ghrelin with a placebo in people who drink heavily. Objectives: - To study the effects of ghrelin on alcohol craving and use. Eligibility: - Individuals between 21 and 60 years of age who are heavy drinkers but are not seeking treatment for alcohol use. - Participants must on average have more than 20 drinks per week for men, and more than 15 drinks per week for women. Design: - Participants will have a screening visit, four 2-night study visits, and a follow-up visit. - Participants will be screened with a physical exam and medical history. They will provide urine and breath samples for drug testing. They will also answer questions about mood and physical symptoms, and about alcohol and other cravings. - At the study visits, participants will stay overnight at the National Institutes of Health clinical center. They will spend the night at the center, have tests on the next day, and go home on the following morning. At each visit, participants will receive a ghrelin or placebo infusion, and will complete a series of tasks. - For the first and second study visits, participants will have tests of alcohol craving and use. They will be able to receive alcohol infusions through a computer program that tests response time and craving reactions. At the same time, they will have a ghrelin or a placebo infusion. Blood alcohol levels, reaction time, and craving will be studied. - For the third and fourth study visits, participants will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study. They will have an initial MRI to provide a picture of the brain. They will then have a functional MRI during which they will respond to a computer test. The test will allow them to win points for snack food or alcohol. This test will look at the brain s response time and craving reactions. - There will be a follow-up visit 1 week after the fourth study visit. Some of the tests from the screening visit will be repeated.
Background: - Traumatic brain injury may have a range of effects, from severe and permanent disability to more subtle functional and cognitive deficits that often go undetected during initial treatment. To improve treatments and therapies and to provide a uniform quality of care, more research is needed into different treatments for traumatic brain injury. - Exercise has been shown to improve movement and balance in people with strokes, cerebral palsy, and other conditions that affect the brain, and can improve symptoms of memory problems or depression. Bright light therapy has also been shown to improve mood in people with depression. Researchers are interested in studying problems with movement, balance, thinking, and mood in people with traumatic brain injury. By comparing the effects of exercise and bright light exposure on brain function, new treatments may be developed for acute traumatic brain injury. Objectives: - To compare the effects of exercise and bright light therapy on the brain function of individuals with traumatic brain injury. Eligibility: - Individuals between 18 and 44 years of age who either have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury or are healthy volunteers. Design: - Individuals with traumatic brain injury will have four outpatient evaluation visits at the clinical center, a 3-month home exercise program, and a 3-month bright light exposure program at home. Healthy volunteers will have one evaluation visit at the clinical center. - At the first study visit, all participants will have a full physical examination and medical history. Individuals with traumatic brain injury will also have an eye exam to determine if it is safe for them to receive light therapy. - All participants will have the following initial tests: - Tests of walking and movement, including monitoring by a physical therapist; tests to record joint movement and evaluate muscle function; tests that combine movement, thinking, and speaking; and balance and reaction time tests. - Magnetic resonance imaging scans - Tests of thinking and mood, including questionnaires, computerized tests, and simple action tests. - Participants with traumatic brain injury will have separate 3-month sessions of exercise and bright light therapy, with additional evaluation visits between each 3-month session and at the end of the study. Between the 3-month sessions, participants will have 1 month with no intervention. - Exercise sessions will involve regular workouts on an elliptical machine for 30 minutes for 5 days a week, and bright light therapy sessions will involve sitting in front of a light box for 30 minutes for 5 days a week. Participants will keep a journal to monitor the effects of the therapy.
Background: - The therapeutic modalities of cannabis have received more research attention recently with the discovery of its ability to stimulate appetite and to provide pain and nausea relief in patients with AIDS, cancer, and multiple sclerosis, among other diseases. Sativex(Registered Trademark), an experimental drug derived from the marijuana plant, contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), both of which affect brain activity. Sativex(Registered Trademark) is being tested to determine how and to what extent it affects brain activity. - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) uses magnetic waves to study brain activity. Researchers are interested in using fMRI to study how Sativex(Registered Trademark) affects regional brain activity, including thinking abilities and behavior. Objectives: - To study changes in regional brain activity produced by Sativex(Registered Trademark) compared with THC and placebo. - To determine how Sativex(Registered Trademark) is processed by the body. Eligibility: - Individuals between 18 and 45 years of age who are either current users of cannabis (less than daily) or healthy volunteers who do not use cannabis. Design: - The study will involve one training session and five testing sessions on separate days. - At every session, subjects will receive either THC or placebo capsules and either Sativex(Registered Trademark) or placebo spray. - Participants will complete a training session in a mock fMRI scanner to adapt to the fMRI scanning environment. In the training session, participants will practice the tests that will track thinking ability, attention, working memory, and other cognitive tasks. - Participants will have five fMRI scanning sessions with the tests they have practiced previously, and will provide blood, urine, and saliva samples as required by the researchers. Participants will be discharged approximately 12 hours after they arrive for the study sessions....
The purpose of this study is to use brain imaging technology to compare differences in brain structure, chemistry, and functioning in individuals with brain and mental disorders compared to healthy volunteers. Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that results from subtle changes and abnormalities in neurons. These deficits likely occur in localized regions of the brain and may result in widespread, devastating consequences. The neuronal abnormalities are inherited through a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors. Brain imaging technologies can be used to better characterize brain changes in individuals with schizophrenia. This study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to identify predictable, quantifiable abnormalities in neurophysiology, neurochemistry and neuroanatomy that characterize schizophrenia and other neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders....