Clinical trials

This study is investigating how two types of non-invasive brain stimulation, transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), affect brain activity, and whether combining them produces stronger or more consistent effects than either one used alone. The motivation for this comes from the observation that TMS, which is FDA-approved for treating depression, tends to work less well in postmenopausal women because lower estrogen levels reduce the brain's ability to respond to stimulation. The research team believes that pairing TMS with TES, which targets a different set of brain cells, may be able to overcome this hormonal barrier and make stimulation more effective. Participants will come into the lab for up to 24 visits over 8 months, beginning with an initial visit to establish the right stimulation settings, followed by a series of stimulation sessions in which brain activity is measured before and after receiving either TES, TMS, or both together. For female participants, sessions will be scheduled at specific points in the menstrual cycle to capture the natural monthly rise and fall of estrogen, while male participants will be scheduled on a comparable fixed interval as a comparison group. The insights gained from this study could directly inform the development of better, more reliable brain stimulation treatments for women with depression.

Participants are being invited to a research study. This research aims to assess the tolerability of transcranial electrical stimulation of the brain, and explore the response of TES on menopausal/perimenopausal symptoms including hot flashes effects, depression/anxiety, memory-problems, and muscular problems. This study will assess what types of electrical brain stimulation affect different menopausal related symptoms. This study will help guide the development of electrical stimulation to be used for improving women's health during menopause transition.

Neuromodulation is a fast growing field that offers a wide range of applications for both understanding and treating the brain. Future research for non-invasive neuromodulation will need to elucidate the optimal frequency, duration, and intensity of stimulation for a variety of technologies and diseases. Closed loop stimulation is thus a promising research area that allows for responsive stimulation and real time symptom management. Our project is proposed to develop and test a novel noninvasive neuromodulation integrating transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (tFUS) with electrophysiological source imaging (ESI-tFUS) to allow evidence-based neuromodulation for brain research and the management of brain conditions. Despite the recent developments and attention surrounding tFUS, relatively little is known about the mechanisms and optimal parameters of this stimulation technology. The addition of ESI neuroimaging, aimed at providing biomarkers to assess the effects of tFUS neuromodulation, could provide crucial necessary information regarding the neural response to the applied stimulation in real-time. In order for tFUS to be further developed and transformed into a robust neuromodulation technology, an integrated electrophysiological source-imaging-guided tFUS system to allow for individualized and responsive stimulation is needed. The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate the proposed ESI-tFUS in human subjects using motor and somatosensory paradigms.

This study examines the role of alcohol use in understanding the dynamics of romantic relationships. Couples will participate in a research session where they consume either an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage and complete study tasks. After the session, participants will provide information about their drinking habits, alcohol- and non-alcohol-related experiences, and relationship factors through brief surveys on their smart phones and again at 6-month and 12-month follow-up sessions. The findings from this study aim to improve understanding of alcohol use in close relationships and may inform future strategies for promoting healthier relationships and behaviors.

The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of a mobile app video game called Digital Vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes (DVx-T1D)™, proposed as a low-risk, non-invasive, digital therapeutic candidate for behavior change in children 6 to 12 years of age with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). The investigators hypothesize that adoption of DVx-T1D™ by T1D patients will positively influence healthy dietary and physical activity behaviors by providing nutrition and lifestyle education through a playful, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based, cartoon-style medium of mobile gaming, and result in improvements in their T1D control. The investigators propose to conduct a longitudinal randomized controlled trial (RCT) over a 3-month period with a study population of 80 T1D participants (40 each in two arms of the trial) of 6-12 years old. The investigators will quantify the impact of the mobile game app plus standard care vs. standard care (with no exposure to the app) on T1D control (assessed by glycosylated hemoglobin or HbA1c measured during clinic visits and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) parameters measured at home), physical activity levels and food choices of children (measured using food logs and surveys). Game telemetry, food logs, clinical, anthropometric, demographic, and survey data will be collected to obtain adequately powered, theory-driven evidence of the value of game-based approaches delivered via mobile apps.