This study will explore the relationship between multimodal brain MRI findings and cognitive/mood outcomes in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients following Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Patients already planning to undergo DBS for PD who choose to take part in this study will have study visits before and after DBS to collect motor, neurobehavioral and physical therapy measurements.

Patients who are already planning to undergo DBS for PD who choose to take part in this study will have study visits before and after DBS surgery to collect motor, neurobehavioral and physical therapy measurements. While many of these components are part of as standard of care, some assessments will need to be collected specifically for research purposes. There are two in-person visits (one before DBS surgery and one approximately 3-6 months after surgery). As part of the study, an MRI to gather data to answer our research questions will be conducted. This is in addition to the clinical MRI that is part of the regular assessment to determine if an individual is suitable for the DBS surgery.

$130 if components of study are completed

This study examines how each brain hemisphere contributes to motor control and coordination. Participants play virtual reality/computer games to look at how their arms move during different activities.

A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a device that has the potential to restore communication by translating voluntarily controlled brain signals of intent. The P300 speller, a popular BCI paradigm, relies on the generation of a P300 evoked potential when a user is presented a rare and unpredictable target stimulus amidst a larger pool of non-target stimuli. This evoked potential is used to control a spelling interface. Those with advanced ALS experiencing the loss of voluntary muscular control may also experience cognitive changes that result in decreased capacity for BCI control using the P300 speller.With this pilot study, we aim to validate the performance of a combination of eye tracking and standard sensory testing to quantify intact sensory and cognitive processes necessary for the generation of a P300 response. Additionally, we will evaluate the association of these correlates with performance on a multisensor P300 spelling task, where brain potentials are evoked using a combination of visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli. The goal is to demonstrate the viability of this system for future use in a patient group.

A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a device that has the potential to restore communication by direct translation of brain signals into computer commands. The BCI used in this study, the P300 Speller, relies on the generation of a P300 evoked potential when a user is presented a rare and unpredictable target stimulus amidst a larger pool of non-target stimuli. During this 2-hour, single session study, we aim to use a combination of eye tracking and sensory testing to quantify sensory and cognitive processes necessary for the generation of a P300 response. We will test the performance of a multisensory P300 spelling task, where brain potentials are evoked using a combination of visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli.

The purpose of this study is (1) to understand how the brain processes sensory information and (2) how this is affected by factors like blindness or synesthesia. In addition to behavioral testing, the study will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which enables us to take pictures of the brain while you are doing a task, using an instrument called an MRI scanner.

Participants will perform simple behavioral tasks either stand-alone or while being scanned; they may also complete questionnaires or rating scales.

Amount varies depending on the study

The purpose of the proposed study is to improve counseling services for people with aphasia. We will examine the effects of a brief training for speech-language pathologists (SLP) and rehabilitation counselors on therapeutic quality and behavioral outcomes for persons with aphasia.

Reducing intake from large portions is of critical importance to preventing obesity. People consistently eat more when they are served larger portions, a phenomenon known as the portion size effect. The mechanisms of the portion size effect are not well understood, and investigating the underlying neurobiology that drives this phenomenon may inform the development of more effective obesity prevention programs. The proposed research will follow healthy weight children who vary by family risk for obesity to identify the neurobiological and appetitive traits that are implicated in overeating and weight gain during the critical pre-adolescent period. We expect results to confirm the hypothesis that reduced function of brain inhibitory pathways and increased activity in brain reward pathways in response to portion size cues contributes to excess intake with large portions and greater weight gain over time, particularly in children who have higher risk for obesity. The proposed studies will characterize the relationship between brain response to portion size and eating behavior and will allow us to determine whether brain and behavioral responses predict body fat gain during pre-adolescence. These studies will contribute essential information to our understanding of the pathways implicated in overeating and obesity and will facilitate the characterization of “at risk” phenotypes that can be targeted by prevention programs.

There will be seven in person visits with two DEXA measurements, one fMRI scan and five meals.

$350

This study will provide a strong basis and foundation for future clinical trials that use historical controls. The study will collect clinical data and biological specimens to create a dataset and biorepository to be shared with other researchers as a foundation for future clinical trials.

This is a volunteer study for participants diagnosed with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) or suspected to have PLS by a neurologist. You will be expected to attend scheduled visits in person or by telephone, complete study testing and audio/video recordings. The study includes clinical measurements to assess disease status and motor function, a number of questionnaires, collection of biospecimens including DNA, blood, and urine, and an electromyography (EMG) test. There will be 6 visits over 24 months, of these 6 three will be in-person visits (2-3 hours) and the other three will be telephone calls (lasting about 45 minutes to an hour). Blood and urine samples will be collected during these visits.

$100 per in person visit (three) and $50 for telephone visit (three) completed.

Parkinson’s disease and a number of similar conditions, such as progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy, often look very similar clinically, particularly early in the disease. Since there is no objective way to diagnose these disorders definitively, the current practice is to follow patients over time to allow the disease to reveal itself. Evidence indicates, however, that even the best movement disorder specialist can provide the wrong diagnosis approximately 25 percent of the time. This lack of diagnostic certainty has limited both clinical practice and research. The goal of this longitudinal study is to determine whether specific MRI and biofluid measures, such as proteins in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, can help better diagnose Parkinson’s, progressive supranuclear palsy and multiple system atrophy patients.

Participants are asked to complete a screening, baseline and 12-month visit. During the baseline and 12-month visit, participants are asked to complete some questionnaires as well as a fasting blood draw, motor evaluation, smell test and MRI. Participants also may choose to complete additional study components that ultimately may guide the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of Parkinson's and its related disorders. These optional components include skin punch biopsies, a lumbar puncture and participation in the Translational Brain Research Center's brain donation program.

$900.00

Postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a chronic syndrome in which the heart beats too quickly when standing. POTS primarily affects young women. People with POTS also experience symptoms such as feeling faint, fatigue, nausea, and mental clouding or "brain fog." “Brain fog” is one of the most bothersome symptoms of POTS and it is unknown why people with POTS experience this symptom. Some studies have shown that POTS patients have problems with attention, memory and executive function (ability to plan, organize information, and adapt to changes) while seated and when upright. In this study, we will evaluate how brain function during mental tasks is affected in people with POTS compared to healthy volunteers. All volunteers will complete mental tasks while lying down and standing. If eligible, we will measure brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).The findings from this study will increase our understanding of the mental complaints in people with POTS, to hopefully help with development of new treatments.

There will be three in person visits for this study. At the screening visit, participants will undergo a detailed medical history and physical examination and then will complete a mental test while lying down and standing. If eligible based on the results of the mental test, participants will undergo a pregnancy test if female and of childbearing potential, measurements of blood pressure and heart rate and blood draws while lying down and standing up, and a test to determine if they can tolerate being in a lower body negative pressure (LBNP) device that distributes more blood to the legs to mimic standing. If eligible based on the results of the screening visit, participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire and two study visits that are separated by at least one week. At these study visits, they will perform a mental test in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. The LBNP device will also be used while in the MRI scanner to distribute more blood to the legs to mimic standing.

$25 per hour; additional $25 for completion of online questionnaire

The purpose of this study is to use fMRI to identify and characterize the olfactory, auditory, visual and trigeminal-related brain networks. This research will then be use to enhance human health by laying the foundation to develop sensitive biomarkers to identify people who are at risk of developing brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, where olfactory deficits are known preclinical symptoms.

The aim of this study is to understand how brain stimulation affects learning of a novel task on a virtual reality system. Participation involves playing virtual reality games during non-invasive brain stimulation.

Single visit, subjection to noninvasive brain stimulation during a reaching task.

25

Using micro-RNA in saliva coupled with survey data as a prognostic tool with the ability to guide clinical management of concussions

During their baseline visit participants will complete a saliva swab, surveys, balance test and brief neurocognitive test.Day 7, participants will complete a saliva swab and 2 surveys.Day 30, participants will complete a saliva swab and 4 surveys.The baseline visit is the only in-person visit, day 7 and day 30 are done remotely.All surveys are completed online and day 7 and day 30 saliva swabs are sent home with the participants and sent back in a prepaid mailer on day 30.

$40

This study will involve elderly humans walking on a treadmill transitioning through prechosen speeds.

There will be one, two hour in person visit. Participants will change into specific lab provided clothing for study and reflective stickers will be placed on participants by the researcher. Participants will then get on the treadmill and will walk at prescribed constant speeds for about 5 minutes total. Then participants will perform 10 speed transition trials each of which lasts about 4 minutes.

$15

The study will determine how the brain controls eye and hand movements during quiet upright stance.

There will be one visit to the lab (approximately 2 hours) in which participants will be required to make reaching movements towards virtual targets while standing upright. Participants will be required to wear comfortable shoes.

$20

This study will look for emerging patterns of Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), an early onset dementia, in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME). JME is a type of epilepsy that usually begins in adolescence and is known to be associated with disturbances of higher-level reasoning, mood and personality. JME patients are often managed by family physicians, rather than epilepsy specialists; with little known about aging with JME. We think that JME patients will demonstrate a pattern of executive dysfunction that is consistent with consensus criteria for FTLD, characterized by declines in abstract reasoning, judgment, and verbal problem solving, as well as behavior. We also think that there will be an inverse relationship between apathy and conscientiousness. We plan to obtain this information by formal cognitive testing of non-demented JME patients over a period of 2 years, at 6-month intervals, to look for progression of symptoms. Loved ones/caregivers will complete informant questionnaires about patient's mood and personality at the beginning of the study and at 6 month intervals throughout the duration of the 24 month study. We will also include loved one/caregiver cognitive testing at the beginning of the study to obtain healthy information for comparison to patient's findings. Our objectives are to characterize the executive functioning profiles of JME in midlife, taking into account cognition, mood, personality, nutritional status and lifestyle. The information obtained may contribute to better care of JME patients prior to midlife and throughout the course of aging.

Visit 1 for both patient and healthy caregiver participants will involve administration of the JME Virtual Visit Protocol via PSH Zoom. Participants will have completed their REDCap questionnaires prior to the visit to the research coordinator, who will be conducting the assessment. Visit 2-5 for patient participants will involve administration of the JME Virtual Visit Protocol via PSH Zoom. JME participation consists of 5 virtual visits with the study’s research coordinator, lasting approximately two hours each, for completion of standardized tests of problem-solving, thinking, and concentration, as defined above. Caregiver healthy control participation consists of 1 virtual visit with the study’s research coordinator, lasting approximately two hours, for completion of standardized tests of problem-solving, thinking, and concentration, as defined above. Remaining participation involves completion of objective inventories providing a caregiver perspective of the patient participant’s mood and behavior at 6-month intervals, within the 24 month time frame of the study.

Inhalation of welding fumes has been known to cause tremor, muscle rigidity and abnormal gait similar to what is seen in Parkinson's disease. Previous studies by the Translational Brain Research Center have used measures such as brain MRIs and tests for movement and function to investigate the effect of these welding fumes on brain health in active welders. The center is currently expanding its efforts to investigate brain health in retired welders.This is an independent study sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, with no affiliation to any private entities such as law firms.In this study participants will be asked to undergo clinical tests (blood draw, motor examination, memory tests), complete lifestyle questionnaires, and undergo an MRI scan during a baseline and 18 month follow-up visit. Participants also will be mailed a welding exposure questionnaire to complete every three months between their baseline and follow-up visit.

Participants will attend a screening call with the study team, an in-person baseline visit and an in-person follow up visit (at 18 months). Participants will complete questionnaires, undergo clinical tests (blood draw, motor evaluations, memory tests), and undergo MRI scan. Participants will also have the option to complete mobile phone assessments and undergo four skin punch biopsies.

Up to $750 per participant

Most individuals with ALS experience changes in speech and swallowing over the course of the disease. In some, these are their initial indication of ALS. Identifying these changes, which may be rapid in some individuals, is complicated by the recent acceleration of virtual care delivery. This is a longitudinal home study of ALS patients to assess speech and swallowing function through use of smartphone application. The overall hypothesis is that this monitoring protocol can be used in a way that, 1) is satisfactory to the patient, 2) performs at least as well as standard clinical measures of dysarthria and dysphagia, and 3) resolves the development of emergence of speech and swallowing pathologies in ALS. Patients enrolling in this study will participate for approximately 24 weeks, during which they will have swallowing and speech tests performed, complete surveys, and perform audio recordings of speech on their cellphone. Healthy controls will be enrolled to judge the intelligibility of speech samples provided by patients in the study.

Patients enrolling in this study will participate for approximately 24 weeks, during which they will have swallowing and speech tests performed, complete surveys, and perform audio recordings of speech on a cellphone.

340

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) wants to collect information about individuals with neuromuscular disease to better understand the disease progression and ultimately improve the medical care, quality of life, and survival of those with neuromuscular disease. To collect this information, MDA has created a data registry called the Neuromuscular Observational Research Data Hub (referred to as the “MOVR Data Hub”). The MOVR Data Hub is a kind of database — a way of collecting and storing information.

Each person who participates in the MOVR Data Hub will have his/her information collected for as long as the person is being seen at an MDA Care Center and information is still being collected, unless and until the person requests that the information no longer be provided to the MOVR Data Hub.

This research is being done to study the deterioration of the central olfactory system (sense of smell system) in the brains of patients diagnosed with early- stage Parkinson’s disease.

This research is being done to study the deterioration of the central olfactory system (sense of smell system) in the brains of patients diagnosed with H&Y stage 1 or 2 Parkinson’s disease compared to that of healthy volunteers.

In this study, you will receive a clinical evaluation and an MRI examination. After that, you will be followed every 12 months for up to 4 years.

up to a total of $250.00.

The purpose of the study is to examine how slow eye movements called smooth-pursuit eye movements, contribute to hand-eye coordination. Participants will grasp a robotic manipulandum and using the manipulandum interact with virtual visual stimuli in an augmented-reality environment.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) leads to respiratory failure due to chronic hypoventilation. The gold standard for measuring hypoventilationrequires an arterial blood gas, which is impractical in the outpatient setting due to invasiveness, pain, and need for specialized equipment. Recently, the Penn State Health Hershey ALS Clinic has implemented transcutaneous CO2 (TCO2) monitoring as standard of care clinical assessment. The overall goals of this study are to gather critical preliminary data for stakeholder-driven refinement of a TCO2 monitoring protocol within a busy ALS clinic and identify how TCO2 may enhance our understanding of standard respiratory measurements.

Participants will complete a survey related to their experience having their CO2 reading performed in the ALS Clinic.

$20 will be paid for every survey completed, for a maximum possible payment of $80 per person.

We aim to investigate the impact exposure to head trauma in intimate partner violence (IPV) has on cognitive, psychological, and neural processes. Physical trauma as an outcome of IPV impacts an estimated 10 million people in the United States each year, with up to 90% of women exposed to IPV reporting episodes of abuse with head trauma. Women exposed to IPV are at a high-risk for developing mental illness and impaired cognitive function, which seems to be compounded in those with exposure to head trauma (HT).

The study includes interviews to discuss your any experiences you have had with physical abuse and head trauma, as well as current and past mental health history. Then you will complete questionnaires to see how you feel about your mental and physical health, followed by tests to assess your thinking abilities. Finally you will complete a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) session to examine brain structure and function. All of the testing should take approximately 6 hours to complete.

$90

This research is being done to help us better understand the risk factors and protective factors for cognitive decline in people who are at increased risk for dementia. The goal of the study is to establish a data and biorepository for people at increased risk for dementia.

Eligible patients for the study, in addition to routine clinic visits, may undergo a series of questionnaires and blood testing.

The overall goals of this study are to identify how measurement of carbon dioxide during sleep can improve recognition of respiratory distress in neuromuscular disease and thus improve timely access to respiratory therapies which prolong survival. Subjects in this study will participate for up to one year, during which their carbon dioxide levels will be measured in clinic and in their homes during sleep.

Subjects in this study will participate for up to one year, during which their carbon dioxide levels will be measured using deviced attached to the skin while in clinic and in their homes during sleep. Subjects will also complete surveys at the time of clinic visits.

50

This research is being done to find out more about changes in the brain as we age and to determine if MRI, genetic (DNA) variations, and neuropsychological tests can be used to evaluate memory loss and cognitive impairment.

The goal of this research is to understand the role of motion-processing areas on limb motor control. We will be using behavioral studies and combining that with functional brain imaging, EEG, and non-invasive brain stimulation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS has been used in thousands of studies and is a very safe method to understand brain function for eye hand coordination.

There will be three visits. Participants will under go brain scanning. They will perform eye-hand coordination tasks by grabbing a robotic manipulandum. During the eye-hand coordination tasks, participants' brain activity will be measured using electroencephalography (EEG) and muscle activity using surface electromyography (EMG). Researchers will also apply transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to temporarily inhibit and excite different brain areas. TMS is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells

50

The purpose of this research study is 1.) to determine if Parkinson’s Disease (PD) causes changes in the way that people sense the movements of and forces produced by their bodies, and to connect any of these changes in sensation to changes in the brain, and 2.) to identify how changes in movement might come from different parts of the nervous system. This study will use a combination of electromyography, via electrodes placed on the skin, and finger force recordings to infer how PD affects patients' sense of force production, and the neural mechanisms underlying this change.

This study requires a single in-person visit. We will use adhesive skin sensors on the forearms to measure muscle activity. At the same time, we test the participant's finger strength and then ask them to press with moderate force on piano-key-like sensors. Participants will be asked to match force levels between hands and to move an on-screen cursor into a target.

$40.00

This study will improve our understanding of movement control and how strokes of different sides affect overall independence. Participants will complete the visit seated at a chair with sensors connected to the less-affected arm. They will then play a short virtual reality game and complete several questionnaires and assessments.

We plan to conduct a qualitative study exploring perspectives of physical therapists and people with disability regarding physical activity promotion