Loading clinical trials...
Loading clinical trials...
Showing 1-9 of 9 trials
NCT06561828
Background: People with substance use disorder (SUD) often have changes in brain function that can make it difficult to control drug-seeking behavior. These changes may heighten the urge to use drugs or lessen the desire to seek nondrug-related rewards. Researchers want to know how a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may cause changes in brain activity that may help people with SUD. Objective: To test TMS in healthy volunteers. Eligibility: Healthy people aged 18 to 45 years who are right-handed. Design: Participants can volunteer for up to 5 different experiments. Each experiment requires 2 to 8 clinic visits. Each visit will last 3 to 7 hours. Some visits will include TMS. A coil will be placed on the participant s head. A brief electrical current will pass through the coil to create a magnetic field. Participants may feel a tapping or pulling sensation on the skin under the coil. They may feel a twitch in their face, neck, arm, or leg muscles. Participants may be asked to tense certain muscles during TMS. Some visits will include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. Participants will lie on a bed that slides into a large tube. They will perform tasks on a computer inside the tube. The fMRI will show which parts of the brain are used during each task. Participants will perform tasks on a computer. Some tasks may be done at a desk as well as during TMS and fMRI. Participants may look at images, listen to sounds, smell odors, or taste flavored liquids. Their vital signs may be monitored and their eye movements may be tracked during tasks.
NCT07099092
Background: Little is known about how different regions of the brain responsible for the human sense of smell guide behaviors. In this study, researchers use a technique called transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) to learn how odors affect the brain and behavior. Objective: To learn more about how the human sense of smell works. Eligibility: Healthy people aged 18 to 45 years who are right-handed. Design: Participants can volunteer for up to 2 different experiments. Each experiment requires 5 visits, each about 1 week apart. Food, alcohol, and caffeine may be limited before visits. At the start of each visit, participants will answer questions about their health and how well they slept. Their sense of smell will be assessed. Some visits may include tasks on a computer: While doing these tasks, participants may be asked to smell different odors, look at pictures, and listen to sounds. They will wear devices to track breathing, blood pressure, pulse, and other body responses to the tasks. Some visits may include TUS: TUS uses ultrasound waves to briefly change brain activity. A gel will be applied to the scalp and hair, and a device will be placed against the participant s head. Participants may feel a tapping, pulling, and/or warm sensation on the skin underneath the device. They may also feel a twitch in their face, neck, arm, or leg muscles. Participants will do tasks before and after TUS. Some visits will include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. fMRI uses magnet and radio waves to capture images of the activity inside the brain. Participants will lie on a table that slides into a tube. They will perform tasks inside the scanner.
NCT02669225
Background: Brain activity creates waste products. The body s glymphatic system removes this waste, especially during sleep. One brain waste product is amyloid-beta (Ab). It plays a role in Alzheimer s disease. Researchers want to study the effect of sleep on Ab in the brain. Objective: To see if sleep affects the amount of waste product removed from the brain. Eligibility: Healthy people at least 18 years of age. Design: Participants will be screened with a medical history, physical exam, and blood and urine tests. They will answer questions about drug use, psychiatric history, and family history of alcoholism or drug use. Participants will complete an MRI screening questionnaire. Participants will stay in the clinic overnight two times. On one night they will sleep through the night. On the other night they will be kept awake all night. These overnight visits can happen in any order. Participants will wear 2 activity monitors, on the wrist and the ankle. Participants will have positron emission tomography (PET) scans. A small amount of a radioactive chemical will be injected through an intravenous (IV) catheter. Participants will lie on a bed that slides into the scanner. A cap or a special mask may be placed on the participant s head. Participants will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The MRI scanner is a metal cylinder in a strong magnetic field. Participants will lie on a table that slides into the cylinder. A device called a coil will be placed over the head. Participants will do a task on a computer screen in the scanner. Participants will have tests of thinking, memory, and attention. They may be interviewed, complete questionnaires, take pen-and-paper or computer tests, and perform simple actions.
NCT04946851
Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major public health problem. In the U.S., 16 to 18 million adults have an AUD. Researchers want to test an assessment tool called the ANA. It uses self-report and behavioral measures to assess 3 neuroscience domains of addiction. They hope to better understand, manage, prevent, and treat AUD. Objective: To learn how people s brains function related to their drinking. Eligibility: People ages 18 years and older who have enrolled in NIAAA natural history study 14-AA-0181. Design: Participants will complete surveys and tasks on a computer. The surveys and tasks assess a range of aspects of thinking and making decisions. The surveys and tasks also assess behaviors and feelings about alcohol and other rewards, and negative emotions. Participants will spend 90 minutes on the computer. Then they will take a break. In total, they will spend 4 blocks of time on the computer. Each block will last 90 minutes. They will take a break in between each block of time. They can take more breaks if needed. Outpatient participants and healthy volunteers will complete this study in 1 visit. It will last about 6 hours. A second visit may be scheduled if needed. Outpatient participants will take a breath alcohol test. If their test is positive, their visit may be rescheduled or they may be withdrawn from the study. Inpatient participants will complete this study over several days. Data collected from participants in this study may be combined and analyzed with their data from NIAAA study 14-AA-0181 and/or NIAAA imaging study 14-AA-0080.
NCT05398783
Background: Scientists have long used simple measures (such as height and weight) to estimate how much a person s body uses food (calories) as energy, as commonly called the metabolic rate. But metabolism varies among people with similar body sizes. Scientists now believe the old formulas for estimating metabolic rates may not work well for all people. Researchers want to find more accurate ways to measure a person s metabolism. Objective: This natural history study will examine the relationships between metabolism, body composition, and body surface area in a wide range of people. Eligibility: Healthy children and adults aged 2 years or older. Also, people aged 2 years or older with conditions that may alter metabolism. These may include diabetes, obesity, renal disease, or cancer. Design: Participants will spend 2 days and 1 night in the hospital. They will provide a medical history and answer questions about their activity levels, the foods they eat, and their lifestyle. They will also eat a special diet. Participants will undergo many tests: They will lie in a bed with a clear hood covering their head for 30 to 45 minutes to measure the gases in their breath. They will lie on a padded table for about 15 minutes while their body is scanned. They will stand on a platform while a 3D scanner measures their body. They will have a test to measure how fast an electric signal moves through their body. They will grip an instrument to measure the strength of their hands. They will drink salty water and provide blood and urine samples. Participants may be invited to return for these 2-day visits up to 8 times per year. Return visits must be at least 2 weeks apart.
NCT03258580
Objective The current proposal investigates behavioral, psychophysiological, and social processes that may help explain biases and disparate outcomes in pain. Health disparities, or health outcomes that adversely affect disadvantaged populations, are pervasive and apparent in many diseases and symptoms, including pain. Pain is the number one reason individuals seek medical treatment. Health disparities in pain encompass both differences in pain experience and treatment for pain. For instance, research indicates that Black individuals report increased pain and have reduced pain tolerance relative to White individuals, yet doctors are less likely to treat minority patients pain and underestimate their pain experience. This project aims to address this systemic discrepancy by focusing on interpersonal processes that may contribute to these disparities, including socially-relevant responses to pain (i.e. pain expression) and pain assessment (e.g. visual attention). The proposed research aims to determine whether the study of pain expressions and their assessment can yield insights on how social factors shape pain and its treatment. Further, we test the efficacy of potential interventions designed to improve accuracy and reduce biases in pain assessment. If successful, this work will form the foundation of a new research program that will link the field of pain research with the field of social neuroscience, and forge new insights on the critical problem of health disparities in pain. Study population We will accrue up to 700 total healthy volunteers to target 240 completers Design Our overall aim is to understand how social factors influence the assessment and management of pain, and to gain insight into psychosocial processes that may underlie health disparities in pain. We propose a series of studies designed to test these links. First, we will measure pain perception and physiological responses to painful stimuli in a diverse group of individuals to test for sociocultural and biological influences on pain and pain-related responses. In subsequent studies, new participants ("perceivers") will view images of these initial participants ("targets") and will provide estimates of 'targets' pain experience. We will measure a) whether perceivers can accurately estimate 'targets' pain experience; b) whether accuracy differs as a function of similarity between target and perceiver (ingroup vs outgroup); and c) whether individuals can improve accuracy through feedback. Outcome measures Primary outcome measures for all experiments will be decisions about pain (experienced by self or other) measured with visual analogue scales, reaction time, and/or categorical judgments (pain/no pain). We will also measure physiological responses (e.g., facial muscle response, skin conductance, pupil dilation) and brain responses using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as secondary outcome measures. We will test whether pain and pain-related responses varies as a function of sociocultural/demographic factors (e.g. race, ethnicity, sex) and whether accuracy in assessing others' pain is influenced by group similarity (i.e. ingroup vs. outgroup) and training (e.g. performance-related feedback)....
NCT04694131
Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the brain has been used to change the activity and connections in the brain to improve memory. Researchers are interested in how these brain changes cause memory improvements and how activity at the time of stimulation may change the effects of TMS. Objective: To learn how brain stimulation can be used to improve memory. Eligibility: Healthy adults ages 18-40 Design: Participants will be screened with a medical record review. Participants will have 3 study visits. At visit 1, participants will have a physical exam and will talk about their health. They will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI scanner is a metal cylinder surrounded by a strong magnetic field. During the MRI, participants will lie on a table that can slide in and out of the scanner. A coil will be placed over the head. Participants will be asked to keep their eyes focused on a small cross on a computer screen inside the scanner. The scanner makes loud noises. Participants will get earplugs. At visits 2 and 3, participants will have TMS and perform tasks. For TMS, a wire coil encased in plastic is held on the scalp. When the coil is triggered, a brief electrical current passes through the coil and creates a magnetic pulse that stimulates the brain. During TMS, an electroencephalogram (EEG) will record brain activity. For the EEG, a cloth cap with electrodes is fitted on the participant s head. Participants will complete a memory task and a spatial processing task. They will also complete surveys about their mental state. Participation will last 2-3 weeks.
NCT02798523
Background: The immune system defends the body against bacteria and other harmful invaders. But it can overact and attack healthy cells by mistake. The group of drugs called glucocorticoids (GCs) can calm down an overactive immune system. But they often cause negative side effects. Researchers want to learn how human genes respond to GCs. Genes live inside each cell of the body. They tell our cells how to function. Researchers hope the results of this study will show them how to develop better drugs that will have the benefits of GCs without the side effects. Objectives: To study how human genes respond to glucocorticoid drugs. Eligibility: Healthy adult volunteers ages 18-64. Design: Participants will be screened with a medical history and physical exam. They will have a heart test and blood tests. The study visit will last about 6 hours. Participants will have medical history, physical exam, and 3 blood draws. Participants will have a skin biopsy. An injection will numb the skin on one arm. Then a tool will remove a piece of skin about as big as a pencil eraser. A GC cream will be applied to the other arm. Participants will get the GC study drug for 30 minutes. It will be a liquid that will drip through a needle placed in an arm vein. Participants will have a skin biopsy of the arm that had the cream applied. Participants will have follow-up calls 1 and 4 days later. They will be asked about reactions or other health problems.
NCT01260740
Background: \- Two areas on the surface of the brain, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and motor cortex (MC), play a key role during learning. Researchers are interested in determining the effect that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on the DLPFC and MC has on participants' performance of learning tasks. By studying the effect of TMS on reaction time, learning, and memory, researchers hope to better understand how to treat conditions such as Parkinson's disease and traumatic brain injury that affect these parts of the brain. Objectives: * To study the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and motor cortex. * To learn which areas of the brain are used to perform certain learning and memory tasks. Eligibility: \- Healthy, right-handed individuals between 18 and 70 years of age. Design: * Participants will be screened with a physical and neurological examination and a medical and psychiatric history. * Participants will be asked to take part in one of five different parts of this study. Most participants will have four 2-hour visits to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Some participants (those involved in Part 5) will have only one 2-hour visit. * Parts 1 and 2 (four visits): Participants will have TMS, and then do a learning task that may provide a small monetary reward. On the first visit, before the TMS, participants will take an intelligence test based on reading aloud the words given on a card. Participants who have not had a routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain within the past year will also have a scan. * Parts 3 and 4 (four visits): Participants will have a functional MRI scan while doing a learning task that may provide a small monetary reward. On the first visit, before the functional MRI, participants will take an intelligence test based on reading aloud the words given on a card. Participants who have not had a routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the brain within the past year will also have a scan. * Part 5 (one visit): Participants will take an intelligence test based on reading aloud the words given on a card. Then, participants will have TMS followed by a functional MRI scan. During the functional MRI, participants will do a button-pressing task that may provide a small monetary reward. * Participants will also be asked to provide a small blood sample for genetic analysis.