Hey all!
In the midst of studying for finals I almost forgot to tell you about my experience with an fMRI study! I participated in the Duke Neurogenetics study run by Dr. Ahmad Hariri's lab, which is an ambitious study with regard to the amount of participants they wish to run. I think they menitoned it was something like 600...that's 600 fMRIs! That must cost at least $6000.00, not counting the $120 dollars they pay participants once they have completed the study. So anyway, let me tell you a bit about the study.
This study took place over three sessions. The first session was an intensive psych/IQ test, in which we were asked to perform memory tasks and psych evals and whatnot. This continued into the second session which consisted of a 2-3 hour survey, asking more questions about mental health and all that jazz. THe third and final session consisted of an fMRI, and man was that interesting!
So I probably shouldn't say what the paradigm was, but what I can say is that the preliminary set up of the fMRI took way longer than the actual trials. I must've spent 30 minutes lying down in a tight space, tucked in quite nicely with a blanket , and listening to the soothing sound of jackhammer like banging (if it wasn't for the ear buds, I probably would be deaf). Even though I was quite restricted in movement, I was able to complete the task, which consisted of pushing buttons in response to on screen cues. I think the hardest part of the study, in addition to trying to stay awake, was trying not to move, as I am one to fidget a lot, it's hard to stay in one place for a long period of time. But despite that, the people at Hariri lab were great, and even helped me give a saliva sample through the presentation of delicious food a la world wide web.
Overall it was a pleasant experience and I recommend it to all of you!
In the midst of studying for finals I almost forgot to tell you about my experience with an fMRI study! I participated in the Duke Neurogenetics study run by Dr. Ahmad Hariri's lab, which is an ambitious study with regard to the amount of participants they wish to run. I think they menitoned it was something like 600...that's 600 fMRIs! That must cost at least $6000.00, not counting the $120 dollars they pay participants once they have completed the study. So anyway, let me tell you a bit about the study.
This study took place over three sessions. The first session was an intensive psych/IQ test, in which we were asked to perform memory tasks and psych evals and whatnot. This continued into the second session which consisted of a 2-3 hour survey, asking more questions about mental health and all that jazz. THe third and final session consisted of an fMRI, and man was that interesting!
So I probably shouldn't say what the paradigm was, but what I can say is that the preliminary set up of the fMRI took way longer than the actual trials. I must've spent 30 minutes lying down in a tight space, tucked in quite nicely with a blanket , and listening to the soothing sound of jackhammer like banging (if it wasn't for the ear buds, I probably would be deaf). Even though I was quite restricted in movement, I was able to complete the task, which consisted of pushing buttons in response to on screen cues. I think the hardest part of the study, in addition to trying to stay awake, was trying not to move, as I am one to fidget a lot, it's hard to stay in one place for a long period of time. But despite that, the people at Hariri lab were great, and even helped me give a saliva sample through the presentation of delicious food a la world wide web.
No comments:
Post a Comment