View clinical trials related to Healthy.
Filter by:The goal of this study is to test whether voluntary up-regulation of mesolimbic reward system activation is possible, and to examine the neurobehavioral effects of specific neuromodulation of this circuit on reward processing. This goal will be achieved by testing the effects of a novel non-invasive experimental framework for neuromodulation that relies on neurofeedback (NF), which is guided by neuronal activation in the ventral striatum (VS) and interfaced with personalized pleasurable music as feedback. We Hypothesize that it is possible to learn to volitionally regulate the VS using this musical NF approach. We further predict that successful NF training for up-regulating the VS-EFP signal will result in marked changes in neural and behavioral outcomes associated with upregulation of dopaminergic signaling.
A generic screening study to establish structural and/or functional baselines of specific organs.
For an overview of the study and link TO REGISTER please go to -- https://brainhealth.utdallas.edu/programs/the-brainhealth-project/ The BrainHealth Project is a ten-year, longitudinal study focused on identifying determinants of brain health and performance. Participants will have the opportunity to complete semi-annual (twice a year) online assessments to track their performance over time. In between semi-annual assessments, participants will have access to online trainings and ongoing supplemental content regarding ways to optimize brain health and performance. Online one-on-one coaching sessions will be offered to participants to answer questions and provide support in applying the information to their daily lives. A small portion of participants will be invited to participate in the brain imaging portion of this study. The main objectives are: (i) to characterize lifestyle, cognitive, and behavioral markers related to an individual's cognitive function from adolescent to elderly ages, (ii) to assess the neural/biological determinants predictive of maintenance of brain health, and (iii) to evaluate the impact of available cognitive and lifestyle interventions on improving and maintaining brain health and performance.
Pupillometry has been used in healthy volunteers to investigate the usefulness of the pupil light reflex as an indicator of pain intensity on pressure as a nociceptive stimulus. In this sense, it is necessary to check if the pupillometry is sensitive to different types or sources of pain. One of these devices is the Algiscan® portable pupillometer (IdMed, Marseille, France), which we propose to use in the present study. This pupillometer has previously been used in healthy volunteers, and in patients admitted to the intensive care unit, subjected to mechanical ventilation and sedation / analgesia. This study in healthy volunteers aims to evaluate whether the PDR can be a reliable and discriminatory measure of the intensity of nociception, applying various types of nociceptive stimuli. If so, this study could lead to the use of pupillometry as an objective measure of nociception in settings where patients cannot communicate, such as intensive care areas or perioperative settings.
This trial is being completed to learn about how Aquamin® affects gastrointestinal permeability, or the control of material passing from inside the gastrointestinal tract through the gut wall into the rest of the body, in people with ulcerative colitis (UC), Irritable Bowel Syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), and in healthy individuals.
Background: Muscular strength training interventions have long been a cornerstone in the prevention, non-surgical management and rehabilitation of the entire spectrum of musculoskeletal injuries and diseases. The key goal of strength training, especially during rehabilitation, is to regain healthy musculoskeletal function. Yet, there remains a fundamental lack of understanding with regards to the relationship between subject-specific musculoskeletal biomechanics (i.e. multi-body dynamics function) and different types of strength training interventions because of limitations in assessing these parameters outside the research setting. Thus, clinicians, physiotherapists and coaches continue making training recommendations based on subjective and generalised guidelines, with ineffective or possibly harmful consequences for individual patients and athletes. Goal: This project aims to advance strength training guidelines and monitoring of training safety and efficiency by means of subject-specific anatomically-based modelling, biomechanical analysis of musculoskeletal function and mobile monitoring of training volume and muscular fatigue in the athletic and recreational setting. Method: For validation purposes, the investigators will conduct an 8-week intervention study in healthy volunteers with three levels of strength training volume of the key muscle-tendon groups associated with knee joint stability and relate the changes in musculoskeletal and biomechanical parameters to the training-specific parameters and muscular fatigue from mobile monitoring through correlation analysis. Relevance: In Switzerland, more than 1.3 Mio people are members of a fitness center. Strength training is not only a cornerstone in the maintenance of fitness and rehabilitation from musculoskeletal injuries and diseases as the most frequently reported health issues.
In this study, we investigate the impact of insulin resistance on the acceleration of brain aging, and test whether increased neuron insulin resistance can be counteracted by utilization of alternate metabolic pathways (e.g., ketones rather than glucose). This study has three Arms, which together provide synergistic data. For all three Arms, subjects are tested in a within-subjects design that consists of 2-3 testing sessions, 1-14 days apart, and counter-balanced for order. During each session we measure the impact of fuel (glucose in one session, ketones in the other) on brain metabolism and associated functioning. For Arms 1-2, our primary experimental measure is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which we will use to trace the self-organization of functional networks following changes in energy supply and demand. Arm 1 tests the impact of endogenous ketones produced by switching to a low carbohydrate diet, while Arm 2 tests the impact of exogenous ketones consumed as a nutritional supplement. For Arm 3, we use simultaneous magnetic resonance spectroscopy/positron-emission tomography (MR/PET) to quantify the impact of exogenous ketones on production of glutamate and GABA, key neurotransmitters. Subjects will be given the option to participate in more than one of the Arms, but doing so is not expected nor required. Prior to scans, subjects will receive a clinician-administered History and Physical (H&P), which includes vital signs, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and the comprehensive metabolic blood panel. These will be used to assess diabetes, kidney disease, and electrolytes. If subjects pass screening, they will be provided the option to participate in one or more Arms, which include neuroimaging. To provide a quantitative measure of time-varying metabolic activity throughout the scan, based upon quantitative models of glucose and ketone regulation, as well as to be able to implement safety stopping rules (see below), we will obtain pin-prick blood samples three times: prior to the scan, following consumption of the glucose or ketone drink, and following completion of the scan. To assess effects of increased metabolic demand, we measure brain response to cognitive load, transitioning from resting-state to spatial reasoning through a Tetris task. To assess effects of increased metabolic supply, we measure brain response to glucose or ketone bolus.
The rubber hand illusion (RHI) causes a change in body perception and awareness as a result of the integration of simultaneously perceived visual and tactile stimulation. In the rubber hand illusion (RHI), which was first described in 1998, a realistic hand model is perceived as a part of the body and body awareness is impaired. In the RHI, the participant's real hand is positioned behind a screen so that it is out of sight; The rubber model hand is placed in the field of vision and in the appropriate position with the real hand. Brush is applied simultaneously to the same parts of the real and rubber hands. He/she perceives the rubber hand as his own and the brush starts to feel as if it is being rubbed into his own hand. This method, which causes the illusion of body belonging, has been defined as the rubber hand illusion. During the rubber hand illusion, increased activity was observed in the ventral premotor cortex, infraparietal cortex and cerebellum in functional MRI. It is suggested that this phenomenon occurs with the integration of interrelated visual, tactile and proprioceptive senses reaching the premotor cortex. Quantitative sensory tests are standardized subjective clinical sensitivity tests that require the collaboration of the person to be examined. In the tests, calibrated stimuli are applied to capture perception and pain thresholds, thus providing information about sensory thresholds. The impairment of body perception caused by RHI contributes to the multi-faceted understanding of sensory perception, higher-level cognitive processes, brain mapping and functions. In the studies; It has been suggested that the conflict between visual and proprioceptive sensory information created during the rubber hand illusion is resolved by the attenuation of somatosensory input at the cortical level. As far as we know, tactile sensory threshold from quantitative sensory tests, two-point discrimination from cortical senses, pressure pain threshold measured by the algometer, and vibration threshold variation during and after rubber hand burning, which causes changes in body perception, have not been studied before. In this study, the relationship between the RHI phenomenon and sensory thresholds will be evaluated.
(1) To compare cuff-less wrist wearable radial artery blood pressure measurements utilizing ViTrack(developed by Dynocardia) to the cuff based commercially available blood pressure device, in healthy volunteers with normal or high blood pressure.
the purpose of this experiment is to determine if acute melatonin supplementation alters central and peripheral cardiovascular responses to a cold pressor test at rest and during dynamic exercise.