Volunteer in a Research Study: Help Understand How Social Connections Impact Health

Do you...

Drink alcohol? 
Feel down or blue? 
Worry much of the time? 

If these questions describe you, please call to see if you qualify to participate in a brain imaging study (VT IRB #20-1032) at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC located at 2 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia.

The Chiu Lab is conducting a research study to understand how people with and without a range of difficulties process different kinds of information. By looking at a person’s brain while they play games, we can begin to understand how they make decisions. The decisions that a person makes while playing games can tell us about how a person might make decisions in real life and what brain functions are used in the process. The goal of this research is to understand when and how social connections affect mental and physical health.

Participants may be asked to engage in interviews and questionnaires about behaviors and life experiences. Eligible participants may also undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning sessions (fMRI) where they will play decision-making games. MRI is a standard non-invasive scanning procedure that is FDA approved. This research study involves four sessions with two visits at each session over one year. Visits may include interviews (2-3 hours) and/or scanning (3-4 hours), for up to a total of 5-7 hours per session.

At each study timepoint, the study team may collect biological samples from participants. These samples may include the collection of urine, breath, and/or saliva samples.

Interested in learning more? 

Please contact us today to see if you qualify. You can complete a simple form to express your interest in this study. You'll be contacted soon by one of our research coordinators. 

Or call or email if you have questions. Thank you.