Hospice Brain Map Study

23 Apr Hospice Brain Map Study

Help solve the mysteries of the brain. Help us discover future treatments for brain injury and disease.

We still do not fully understand how the human brain works. Much of how our brains function and how the parts are organized remains a mystery. Brains are very different from person to person and that makes studying them even harder. Finding new treatments for brain disorders has been very slow because the brain is so complicated. To fully understand how they work, we need your help.

Our study will address these challenges by creating a new human brain map that will help scientists to understand the different types and functions of each of our 200 billion brain cells.

Our goal in making this new map is to speed up the search for treatments for all kinds of brain disease and injury, and to relieve the suffering they cause.

We will begin by looking at how human brains work by asking people to do a special brain scan called Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI*. We will also be asking them to donate their brains for research after they die. This will allow us to compare the information from the MRI scan to the donated brain.

If you agree to be in this study, you will join us for two visits:
● Visit 1 will be a screening visit. It will last about an hour and can happen in your home if you prefer. You will undergo a short physical exam and memory testing.
● Visit 2 will be the MRI scan and must occur within 3 months after Visit 1. This MRI scan will only involve taking pictures as you play some games in the MRI scanner. No injections are needed for the scan.

Participants will be paid for the visits and travel costs will be covered.

If you are interested in learning more about the Brain Map Study, please call 206.744.5079 or email us at brainmap@uw.edu.

Participant Eligibility

We are looking for volunteers who are:
● 18 years or older, and diagnosed with a life limiting illness (life expectancy less than 24 months)
● Interested in donating their brain to science
● Fluent in English
● Live within a 3-hour drive from Seattle

You may be excluded from in this study if:
● You have a neurological disorder (e.g., stroke, seizure, neurodegenerative disease)
● You are unable to undergo brain MRI (e.g., you are claustrophobic or unable to lay on your back for an hour, or you have an implant that cannot be near a strong magnet)

Contact

Kathryn Torrez
(206) 744-5079