Neuroscience of Social Behavior Study

The Casas Lab is conducting a research study to understand how people with and without a range of interpersonal 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 interpersonal decisions in real life and what brain functions are used in the process.

Participants may be asked to engage in Interviews and questionnaires about personality, behaviors, and life experiences. Eligible participants will also undergo a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning session (fMRI) where they will play decision-making games. This study is expected to take place over two sessions, the interview session (1-3 hours) and the scanning session (3-5 hours). This study takes place at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC located at 2 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, Virginia.

Participation also includes:

• Being compensated $15/hour and having an opportunity to earn up to an additional $75 based on performance in the games
• An opportunity to receive a free MRI Brain scan
• An opportunity to receive a CD and a printed image of your brain

You may be eligible to participate if you:

• Are 18-55 years old
• Speak English
• Are NOT claustrophobic
• Do NOT have any metal implants (e.g. pacemakers, cochlear implants, spinal fusion)
• Have NOT had a head injury (e.g. loss of consciousness exceeding ten minutes, TBI)

If interested, please contact the study staff:

• Office Phone: 540-526-2032/2091
• Work Mobile: 540-739-0038
• Email: participate@vtc.vt.edu