New study: How do we make decisions under threat?

In this new study about fear, we investigate what happens in your body and brain when you have to make decisions in threatening situations. We want to know this to be able to help people that deal with this on a daily basis, such as first responders and people with anxiety.

You can help us with this by participating in our study!

The experiment consists of a single session of 150 minutes and will take place at the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging of the Radboud University in Nijmegen (Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN). During the experiment you will perform a computer task in which you will make decisions that lead to either winning money or receiving mild electrical shocks. You will do this while lying in the MRI scanner and we are measuring your brain activity. At the same time, we will observe how your body reacts to the situation by measuring your heart rate, skin conductance, and breathing. Finally, you will fill in a few short questionnaires. All of these measures will be collected and recorded anonymously and can not be traced backed to any personal information.

For your participation you will receive a standard fee of 24 euro and a bonus of max. 15 euro. It is also possible to receive a scan of your brain. Additionally, you will be contributing directly to state-of-the-art scientific research!

Interested?

We are looking for you if you are right-handed, 16-35 years old and have no metal parts in your body (dental wires are allowed; see below).

Additionally, you will need to fulfill the following criteria:

  • You’re not pregnant
  • You don’t suffer from epilepsy or claustrophobia
  • You have not been in treatment for any major psychiatric disorder (depression, anxiety, mood disorders, etc.)
  • You don’t suffer from any cardiovascular conditions (such as heart rate arrhythmia) and you are not diagnosed with low/high blood pressure
  • You have no previous or current hormonal disorders or treatment
  • You are MR-compatible. This means the following:
    • You have no unremovable metal parts in or on your upper body (such as piercings, earrings, metal fragments). Dental wires, fillings, and crowns are okay!
    • You do not have an active implant (e.g., pace maker, neurostimulator, insulin pump)
    • You do not use a medical plaster that cannot or may not be taken off (e.g. nicotine plaster)
    • You have not had brain surgery

Ready to sign up?

Great to hear you’re interested!
You can sign up using the university-wide participant recruitment system called SONA (https://radboud.sona-systems.com/)
If you don’t have a SONA-account yet click here to create one.

Once you have created an account you can directly sign up:

Click here to sign-up!

Or copy-paste the URL into your address bar: https://radboud.sona-systems.com/default.aspx?p_return_experiment_id=10552

You can also look for the study called “[DCCN] fMRI: Freeze all motor functions! Approach-avoidance decisions for money | 24 euro” in the list of available studies.

Can’t get it to work? No problem, just email me at: f.klaassen@donders.ru.nl

More information?

We understand you may have additional questions about the study, for example about the precautions we take with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For any questions, feel free to contact me at: f.klaassen@donders.ru.nl
Or, if you prefer, it is also possible for us to have a (virtual) conversation or phone call. Just send me an email to set up a meeting.

Hope to see you soon!