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Brain
Processing of Optimal Performers
 The
OptiBrain Center is a consortium of investigators from University of
California San Diego, the Naval Health Research Center, the Olympic
Training Center and the Naval Special Warfare Center, San Diego, CA.
OptiBrain researchers are dedicated to uncovering the brain mechanisms
that are important for optimal performance in extreme environments. To
this end, the Center is conducting a study to determine how the brains
of individuals respond to different types of mental and physical
challenges.
This study will use functional brain imaging and simple tasks to find
whether people who are extremely successful in difficult situation have
a unique “brain processing signature”. Understanding how the brain
function in extremely successful individuals will help us to develop new
training techniques and to identify other individuals who may also
perform extremely well.
We are asking for about 2 hours of an
individual's time to help with these research studies. During this time
the person will complete a questionnaires about how he/she feels, the
person will be asked to complete a simple task during functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The fMRI uses magnetic fields to
visualize brain activity. Some individuals find that the fMRI machine is
rather noisy, but there is no radiation or other adverse effects from
the imaging machine. During the scan the person will perform 2 simple
behavioral test and the person will be ask to breathe through a tube,
which at times will be connected to a resistor that makes i t
more difficult to breathe. At no point will there be any challenge to
the person's physical health. During these tests, we will record how the
person's brain activity changes as a function of these challenges. At
the end, the individual will receive a picture of his/her brain image at
the end of the study.
Most importantly, the individual's identity will be kept anonymous, that
is, nobody will be able to identify a specific brain activity with a
particular person. Instead, all analysis will be done on groups of
individuals. |
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Dr. Martin P. Paulus and his associates from the
Department of Psychiatry at UCSD and the VA Medical Center in La Jolla,
are studying how healthy volunteers make decisions.
We use simple computer tasks to tell how people organize their
behavior around making choices. We are also studying which parts of the brain are used in
decision-making. For this
research study, we are asking people with methamphetamine dependence to
perform simple computer tasks while we record their brain activity using
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY YOU
MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING QUALIFICATIONS:
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Male or Female between the ages of 18 and 55.
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No anxiety, depression or other mental problems.
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No history of problems with drugs or alcohol .
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No serious past head injuries
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No serious medical problems.
For more information contact:
Heather
Donovan
(858)
534 9442
hdonovan@ucsd.edu
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Dr.
Martin P. Paulus and his associates from the Department of Psychiatry at
UCSD and the VA Medical Center in La Jolla, are studying how people who
are dependent on methamphetamines make decisions.
We use simple computer tasks to tell how people organize their
behavior around making choices. We are also studying which parts of the brain are used in
decision-making. For this
research study, we are asking people with methamphetamine dependence to
perform simple computer tasks while we record their brain activity using
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
IF
YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING
QUALIFICATIONS:
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Methamphetamines as your primary drug of use
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Clean for 14 – 30 days
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NO major medical problems
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NO history of mental illness
For more information contact:
Carlyn Eidt
(858) 246-0624
ceidt@ucsd.edu
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Martin P. Paulus and his associates from the Department of Psychiatry at
UCSD and the VA Medical Center in La Jolla, are studying how people who
are casually or recreationally use stimulants (e.g. Ritalin, Adderal,
Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, Cocaine) make decisions and how brain
areas that are important for decision-making are affected by the use of
stimulants. For this
research study, we are asking people who are using stimulants to
perform simple computer tasks while we record their brain activity using
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. If you would like to
participate you should meet the following qualifications
- Use of stimulants at least twice over the past 6 months
- No major medical problems
- No significant emotional or mental health problems.
For more information contact:
Carlyn Eidt
(858) 246-0624
ceidt@ucsd.edu
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