Research
Explore our research studies that are currently recruiting participants below and click here to fill out a screening for one or more of the studies
- Brain Circuits and Comorbidity
- Circuitry-Guided Smoking Cessation in Schizophrenia
- Alternative Stimulation Mode and Location for Auditory Hallucination Neuromodulation Treatment
- Developing Biomarker-Supported SSD Prevention
- Enhancing Brain Connectivity in Schizophrenia through Neuromodulation
- Mobile Brain-Body Study
Brain Circuits and Comorbidity
People suffering from mental illnesses are often more likely to have other medical conditions. These
additional illnesses are called comorbidity. The purpose of this research is to better understand how a
mental illness in the brain may increase people’s comorbidity. The study may help doctors to develop
better strategies to prevent and treat comorbidity in the future.
Enrolling: patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, control participants without mental illness
Age: 12-88 years
Study length: about 16 hours over multiple visits
Study components: MRI, brain wave recording (EEG), clinical assessments, computer tasks, blood vessel laser and ultrasound, sleep pattern recording, blood and saliva samples.
Circuitry-Guided Smoking Cessation in Schizophrenia
The purpose of this study is to provide effective repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatments for nicotine addiction in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Enrolling: patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder & smoking in the last one year or more and average cigarette per day ≥ 5 in the past 4 weeks.
Age: 22-65 years
Study length: 5-6 months including ~6 weeks of TMS treatment and follow up visits
Study components: brain stimulation (TMS), brain wave recording (EEG), MRI, clinical assessments
Alternative Stimulation Mode and Location for Auditory Hallucination Neuromodulation Treatment
The purpose of this study is to provide effective repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatments for auditory hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Enrolling: patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder who have auditory hallucinations.
Age: 18-50 years
Study length: ~3 months, including ~6 weeks of TMS treatment and a follow up visit
Study components: brain stimulation (TMS), brain wave recording (EEG), MRI, clinical assessments
Developing a Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorder Prevention for Children
The purpose of this study is to develop and examine a family therapy to reduce brain development related to schizophrenia spectrum disorder in children with a family history of the disorder.
Enrolling: children with a family history of schizophrenia and their caregivers. The family history is defined as 1) one or more first-degree relatives (e.g., a parent or a sibling) or 2) two or more second-degree relatives (e.g., an uncle or a grandparent) or 3) other combinations.
Age: 9-18 years
Study length: ~9 months, including ~16 weeks of family therapy and a follow up visit.
Study components: weekly family therapy, MRI, clinical assessments
Enhancing Brain Connectivity in Schizophrenia through Neuromodulation
The purpose of this study is to assess the improvement in frontal white matter integrity by using intermittent theta-burst deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and its relationship with improvement in processing speed.
Enrolling: patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders
Age: 18-60 years
Study length: ~1 month
Study components: brain stimulation (TMS), brain wave recording (EEG), MRI, clinical assessments
Mobile Brain Body Study
The purpose of this study is to examine how stress, sleep, and mental health are related, and the role of brain function in their relationship.
Enrolling: patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, control participants without mental illness
Age: 18-65 years
Study length: 1 months including daily smartphone surveys and fitness tracking at home
Study components: fitness tracking, smartphone surveys, MRI, clinical assessments, computer tasks, hair and saliva samples