Join a Study
For more than three decades, our research group has used brain imaging and cognitive and motor testing to learn how neurological and psychiatric disorders disrupt brain structure and functioning. Disorders we investigate include alcohol use disorder (AUD), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) along with normal aging. Problems associated with each of these disorders can accelerate with advancing age or disease, and some brain structures and functions can even improve with sobriety or treatment. To capture these dynamic changes, we study research participants over time, that is, longitudinally. Learning more about brain processes related to aging can lead to improved options for care, treatment, and understanding of the problems an affected person faces in daily life.
Studies take place at SRI International in Menlo Park. Currently funded studies are listed below:
ALCOHOL STUDY
Who can participate:
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 in good health
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 recently abstinent from alcohol
This study recruits for NIAAA-funded grant: CNS Deficits: Interaction of Age and Alcoholism
HIV STUDY
Who can participate:
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 in good health
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 recently abstinent from alcohol
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 infected with HIV
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 recently abstinent from alcohol + HIV infected
This study recruits for NIAAA-funded grant: Tracking HIV Infection & Alcohol Abuse CNS Comorbidity with Neuroimaging
MCI STUDY
Who can participate:
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 in good health
- Men and Women aged 50 – 80 with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and any amount of alcohol consumption
This study recruits for NIAAA-funded grant: Alcohol: A Modifiable Risk Factor for Ataxia and Decline in MCI
What participation involves:
One to two days in the laboratory, scheduled at your convenience (including weekends)
- Interviews and questionnaires
- Computerized and pen and paper tests to evaluate cognition and tests to evaluate motor function
- Collection of biospecimens (i.e., blood) for analysis
- Collection of MRI data for in vivo brain data analysis
- Potential for follow-up visits with similar activities
Minimal criteria for participation:
- Completed at least 8 years of education
- Age-normal corrected hearing and visual acuity
- No metal implantation (e.g., pacemakers) or other factors that preclude magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning
Benefits of participating:
Contributing to a better understanding of alcohol use disorder and HIV in the context of normal and cognitively impaired aging.
A small monetary stipend for time spent participating.