Research Participation
Interested in participating in our studies? Details of studies we're currently recruiting for are below
Monash Pregnancy Study - How does pregnancy impact our sense of self?
Pregnancy (and women more broadly) have been historically neglected in neuroscience. Most pregnancy research is either infant-focused or disorder-centric. This means that scientists know very little about how pregnancy might impact a typical brain, or how typical maternal factors and experiences impact maternal outcomes.
We are conducting a world-first neuroimaging (fMRI) study exploring how pregnancy impacts areas of the brain responsible for sensory processing and sense of self. If you are a woman experiencing a low-risk, first time pregnancy, are right-handed and have normal or corrected-to-normal vision, we invite you to take part.
If you are interested or would like to know more, visit our webpage, fill out this online form, or email Rebecca at pregnancystudy@monash.edu
The CARE-MAP study - a 'baby brain' study
Do you think you have baby brain? Do you think you have baby brain, even though you're a dad, or a non-birthgiving parent?
We're interested in how our cognition and our brains change after becoming a parent. In our newest study, we're conducting an online study to characterise cognition in parents up to two-years post-partum. Importantly, we think that if baby brain exists, it probably also occurs in fathers and other non-birthgiving parents. This is the first study of its kind to study parents of all types, regardless of sex, gender, birthgiving status, living situation, and so on! We just want to understand parents!
Yash and Chloe have made a number of great videos describing the study here. You can also contact the team and get more information through this online form.
MetConn: The Metabolic Connectivity Project
We're pleased to launch the MetConn Project: our flagship project using simultaneous MRI-PET to simultaneously measure the functional and metabolic connectivity of the human brain across the adult lifespan.
If there is one thing we know about ageing, it's that there is great variability in how people age. While some people seem to show age-related declines early, in their 60s (and even 50s), others seem to continue well into their 8th and 9th decades showing little sign of slowing down. We want to better understand this variabilty in ageing.
Using state-of-the-art neuroimaging, we're studying the maturation of the functional and metabolic connectome over the lifespan. We're using a new method that is only available at a handful of research sites world-wide, and which we think shows great promise in predicting how well a person will cognitively age.
Our MetConn team includes Rob, Hamish, Navyaan & Gerard, and they're recruiting now! For more details see here. You can also email us at cogneurolab@monash.edu for more details
Am I eligible to participate in your studies?
Each of our research studies have unique eligibility criteria, so you're best to use the contact details above to find out more. However, we do have some general criteria for MRI and MR-PET studies, to ensure that you are safe to enter the scanner. If you answer 'yes' to any of the questions on these screening forms, contact your researcher to find out if you can participate.
MRI safety form
MR-PET safety form
Where do I go to participate in your studies?
All of our in-person studies are based at Monash Biomedical Imaging:
770 Blackburn Rd
Clayton VIC 3800