Research is a key component for making new discoveries and improving the lives of people with disabilities. It can also provide participants with insight and support regarding their conditions, especially when there is a gap in services. Here are a few studies that may be of interest.
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS NEEDED!
If you are pregnant and are interested in participating in research, please consider participating in the ABC Study!
The ABC Study is a research project that aims to understand how children grow and develop through their daily experiences and relationships. As a participant, you and your child’s other caregiver (if applicable) will be involved in study sessions during pregnancy and when your child is 1, 6, 12, and 18 months old. These study sessions will take place at your home, at our research lab at Vanderbilt University, and at the Vanderbilt Imaging Center, where your child will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to see how their brain is growing across the first year of life. MRI is safe for infants and has been used with infants for 20 years. It requires no medication and involves no radiation.
During the study visits, we will be asking you and your family questions about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences. We will also provide wearable devices to study family interaction patterns and learn more about your child’s daily life.
Participants will be compensated for their time, and you will be given 3D miniatures of your child’s brain and written reports on your child’s development!
If interested, please contact:
615-348-5752
sealab@vanderbilt.edu
vusealab.com
Children’s Interaction with Caregiver Study
Vanderbilt researchers are seeking people who have a child who is 12 months or younger for a study focused on understanding children’s interactions with their caregivers. As a participant, we will ask you to engage in a number of research activities. Participation will include using small, wearable devices to track movement and family interactions, completing questionnaires, and interaction activities. Overall, the study will take about 7-8 hours (for both parents, if applicable) across two visits at Vanderbilt in addition to a home visit. If you complete all parts of the study, your family can earn up to $415. We will schedule visits around your availability (daytime, evenings, or weekends!).
To be eligible for this study, you must:
- be a United States citizen or a Permanent Resident
- be at least 18 years old
- be fluent in English
- have no immediate plans to leave Nashville or the surrounding area
Interested? Fill out our online interest form (Click Link Here), visit our website at
http://www.vusealab.com, email us at sealab@vanderbilt.edu, or call us at 615-348-5752 to speak with a member of our study team!
Teen Thinking Skills Study
Research Study Description:
The purpose of this study is to better understand the social relationships of teenagers. We want to understand how teens’ thinking skills, stress, emotions, and coping behaviors are related to the quality of important family and friend relationships. Participating in this study involves children and parents completing 2 study visits. The first visit will be at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that involves surveys, thinking and learning tasks, a videotaped parent-child conversation, and computer tasks while eye movements are recorded. The first visit takes about 3 to 4 hours. The second visit involves children and parents completing online surveys at home 12 months later. The online surveys will take 1 to 1.5 hours to complete.
Compensation Details:
Teens will be compensated $70 and parents $50 for completing all assessments at the first visit. Teens will be compensated an additional $30 and parents $35 for completion of all online surveys 12 months later.
Interest Form & Eligibility Questions:
Interested parents can complete a brief screening and interest form through Redcap at the following link: https://redcap.vumc.org/surveys/?s=WP9NEMEFNHE8J8XX
Contact Information:
Email: k.watson@vumc.org
Phone: 615-875-0743
Kelly Watson, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Maternal Depression Study
Mothers and their children (age 4-6) are needed for a study that evaluates the impact of maternal depression on children’s positive emotion processing and mental health outcomes. You may be eligible if you are a mother and have experienced symptoms of depression at some time in your life.
Participation consists of 3 virtual visits and 3 in-person visits, and families will be paid up to $360 for their time. Computer and behavioral tasks will be completed at Vanderbilt University in the Psychology and Human Development Department. Questionnaires and interviews will be completed in-person and online through a video-conferencing platform.
To be eligible for this study, you must:
**be at least 18 years old
**have a child aged 4-6
Interested? Email us about the CARE study at medlabvanderbilt@gmail.com, or take our online survey to assess your eligibility: https://redcap.link/CAREscreener
Modifying Patterns of Attention Study
This is a psychology research study (“Modifying Patterns of Attention”) that you may be eligible for. Do you struggle with social anxiety or public speaking fears? We are recruiting adults who meet criteria for social anxiety disorder for a study involving two in-person sessions, one remote phone call, and 15 days of remote data collection.
Purpose: The study aims to investigate patterns of attention and cognition involved in social anxiety disorder, ultimately to inform novel treatments for this widespread mental health condition.
Requirements of Participation: The time commitment for this study is two in-person sessions (1 hour each), one midpoint phone call (5-10 minutes), and 15 days of remote data collection that can be completed throughout your everyday life. In the laboratory sessions, you will be asked to complete an eye-tracking task, a cognitive task, questionnaires, and a behavioral task. During the remote data collection period, short (1-2 minute) surveys will be sent to your email in the morning, afternoon, and evening that ask about your social experiences, thoughts, and emotions. During the midpoint phone call, a researcher will ask you to shift your focus of attention during social experiences for one week.
Benefit: There are no direct benefits to participants, but the overall project may contribute to a better understanding and treatment of social anxiety disorder
Compensation: Up to $75 Amazon gift card.
Next Steps: If you are interested in participating, please fill out this form with your contact information: https://redcap.link/l3orcrpu. A researcher will contact you to provide more information about the study and determine your eligibility.
Thank you for your time,
The Emotion and Anxiety Research Laboratory
111 21st Avenue South Wilson Hall room 211
Nashville, TN 37240
Phone: 615-343-5476
How Emotions Affect the Brain Study
Are you interested in how emotions affect the brain? The BRAINS Lab at Vanderbilt University is looking for adolescents and young adults, ages 12 to 23 years, to participate in a paid research study. Those who qualify will receive $100 for completion of three study sessions:
- a clinical interview over Zoom
- In-person cognitive tasks and EEG brain recording
- An in-person MRI brain scan.
Participants will also complete brief questions about mood and health on their phone.
To learn more about the study, send an email to brains.lab@vanderbilt.edu.
Multisensory Function Study
Vanderbilt University is seeking children and adults to participate in a study assessing multisensory function. The work in the Wallace Lab focuses on how individuals integrate all the things they hear, see, and touch into a single picture of the world. To do this, we use a number of behavioral tasks and games, virtual reality, and non-invasive physical recordings.
You [your child] may be eligible to participate if you are between the ages of 7 and 65 years; do not have a history of genetic, neurodevelopmental, or seizure disorders; you are comfortable wearing an EEG cap or virtual reality device; and you are comfortable working on a computer for up to an hour.
The study will take 1-10 visits, depending on which activities you would like to participate in. Participants will receive $20 per hour of participation in the form of gift cards. The study will take place at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Parking will be provided.
If you are interested in participating or learning more about this study, please email the research recruitment coordinator, Eliza Brandon, at elizabeth.g.brandon@vanderbilt.edu or 630-200-3916.