Project Title: Error-related Neural Processes and the Effects of Aging

Investigators:

Ms. Rachel Buckley, Ms. Evelyn Chen, Ms. Alice Crole, A/Prof. Robert Hester

School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne.

Project Description:

We are looking for right-handed, healthy participants aged between 18-45.

You are invited to participate in a study that will examine performance monitoring, or the ability to detect an error in your own performance, and then your ability to use error processing to improve ongoing performances. For humans, the ability to monitor ongoing performance (in particular the processing of errors) is an executive function critical to behavioural control. This serves an adaptive function in signaling to an individual that the task has increased in difficulty, and that the intervention of other attention or control processes would potentially be advantageous.

We will examine how this process works, and how efficiently it allows us to adapt our behaviour to task requirements. We will also examine whether differences in behaviour are reflected in brain activity differences measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

There are two sessions involved. The first session takes place at the University of Melbourne, Parkville, and will involve you making simple judgments on a series of numbers displayed on a computer screen. In the second session, you will do this task inside a MRI scanner while we take images of your brain at the MRI scanner based within Swinburne University (just a 2 min walk from Glenferrie train station). To assess eligibility for the study, we will also ask you to complete questionnaires about your drug use behavior, as well as current and past medical and psychiatric history.

You will be reimbursed $10 per hour for your time in the first session, plus any small monetary reward that you may accrue from the task. For the second session, you will be reimbursed $20 per hour for your time and additional payment commensurate with performance on tasks.

MRI Brain Imaging: MRI is a standard non-invasive procedure for taking images of the brain and has no known risks for people who have no metal in their body. You can also choose to receive a disc containing the images of your brain.

This experiment follows guidelines of the National Health and Medical Research Council statement on human experimentation and adheres to the ethical review process of the University of Melbourne.

For further information, or to volunteer to take part in the study, contact:

Evelyn Chen

School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne.

E-mail: eche@student.unimelb.edu.au