Project title:
Neural and cognitive studies of reward sensitivity and its influence on cognitive control
performance.
Investigators:
Ms. Kathleen Charles-Walsh, Ms. Alice Crole, Ms. Evelyn Chen, Dr. Daniel Upton, A.Prof. Robert
Hester.
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne
Potential Participants:
We are seeking individuals who occasionally smoke cigarettes and have never smoked on a daily
basis.
Project description:
The current study examines the influence of nicotine use on the ability to control responses to
rewarding stimuli. We will examine how different brain areas respond during the requirement to
control the impulse for reward, and the relationship between these responses and subsequent post-
feedback behaviour changes. The study will include a longitudinal component to examine cigarette
use at different time points.
Participation:
Participation in this project will involve three sessions on different days. There will also be a
follow-up session that will occur in approximately two years to assess any changes in nicotine use.
Session one will take between 2 – 2.5 hours, located in the Redmond Barry Building at the
University of Melbourne. This session will include a demographic and substance use interview and
two computer-based cognitive tasks. Sessions two and three will take around 2 hours. You will
complete some questionnaires and then do the cognitive tasks from session one inside an MRI
scanner. The scanning sessions will take place at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Reimbursement:
You will be reimbursed $10 per hour for your time during session one, and $20 per hour during
sessions two and three. You will also receive additional payments commensurate with performance an
tasks with monetary reward conditions.
Contact:
For more information, or to volunteer to take part in the study, please contact:
Ms. Kathleen Charles-Walsh, E-mail: kathleen.charles@unimelb.edu.au
Ms. Alice Crole, Email: alice.crole@unimelb.edu.au
Ms. Evelyn Chen, E-mail: e.chen2@student.unimelb.edu.au