Clinical Research Directory

Emotion Regulation in RNT

The goal of this study is to understand why some people become stuck in repetitive negative thinking, which is common among individuals with depression and anxiety. Repetitive negative thinking involves repeatedly focusing on negative events, worries, or problems. These thoughts can be difficult to control and may worsen emotional distress and daily functioning. Researchers believe that repetitive negative thinking may be related to changes in how different brain networks communicate with each other. This study will examine how the brain responds during emotion regulation tasks in people who tend to ruminate compared with healthy individuals. To do this, researchers will use a brain-imaging technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). This method measures brain activity using harmless infrared light while participants perform tasks on a computer. The main questions this study aims to answer are: How does the brain respond to emotional situations in people who experience repetitive negative thinking? Are there differences in brain activity between people with depression or anxiety and healthy individuals during emotion regulation? Participants will include 50 healthy volunteers and 50 individuals with depression or anxiety who experience repetitive negative thinking. Participants will: Wear a lightweight brain-imaging device (fNIRS) placed on the head to measure brain activity Complete computer tasks involving emotional images and different emotion-regulation strategies, such as reinterpreting, suppressing, or distracting from emotions Listen to different types of spoken feedback (criticism, praise, or neutral comments) and imagine receiving them from someone they know Report their emotional feelings during the tasks Complete several questionnaires about mood, thinking patterns, and emotional experiences During the experiment, researchers will also record physiological responses such as heart activity and skin reactions, which are related to emotional responses. The results of this study may help researchers better understand the brain mechanisms underlying rumination and may contribute to the development of more effective treatments for depression and anxiety.

Measurement Properties of the Walking Adaptability Ladder Test and Foot Tap Test in Multiple Sclerosis

Walking and motor control impairments are among the most common manifestations experienced by people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) and may already be present in individuals with mild disability. Subtle changes in walking performance can reflect early disease progression, highlighting the need for sensitive clinical outcome measures that capture complex, real-world mobility. Commonly used assessments primarily quantify time or distance and may lack sensitivity to detect early or subtle functional changes in daily-life walking. Successful everyday mobility requires gait adaptability, defined as the ability to continuously adjust walking patterns in response to environmental or task-related challenges, including the processing of external perturbations and internal factors such as fatigue, balance confidence, and fear of falling. Despite its clinical relevance, gait adaptability is not specifically addressed by currently validated clinical tests in pwMS. The Walking Adaptability Ladder Test (WALT), which challenges the interaction between step length, cadence, and walking speed through continuous adjustments, and the Foot Tap Test (FTT), which assesses lower limb motor control and rhythmic coordination, have demonstrated promising measurement properties in other populations but have not yet been evaluated in pwMS. The primary aim of this study is to examine the test-retest reliability and construct validity of the WALT and FTT in pwMS with mild disability. Secondary aims include evaluating the measurement properties of the Balance Recovery Scale and the Gait-Specific Attention Scale in pwMS with mild disability, identifying inertial measurement unit-derived metrics that best discriminate pwMS with low disability from healthy controls, and exploring whether relationships between clinical motor test outcomes and self-reported measures provide complementary insights into subtle gait impairments.

Validating the On-line Creyos Cognitive Assessment Platform in Older Adults With Major Depressive Disorder or Mild Cognitive Impairment

The goal of this observational study is to validate the Creyos online cognitive assessment platform in individuals with mild cognitive impairment, or remitted major depressive disorder. The main objectives of this research are: 1. To confirm the feasibility of administering the Creyos cognitive battery to older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment MCI) or Major Depressive Disorder in remission (rMDD). 2. To determine whether the Creyos battery can detect changes in cognition that are predictive of changes on paper-and-pencil neuropsychological testing ("gold standard") over up to five years. Participants will complete both in-person neuropsychological testing yearly as well as the Creyos online battery quarterly for up to 5 years, to allow us to compare performance on these two batteries over time.

Neural Mechanisms of Light Driven Analgesia

The goal of this study will be to understand the biological mechanisms that are responsible to light-driven analgesia. Light presented to the retina has been shown to have pain relieving properties in pre-clinical and clinical studies. In this study the investigators will evaluate the functional connectivity between subcortical visual areas and non-image forming brain areas that are involved in pain sensation. The investigators will also evaluate how three colored light stimuli presented to the retina results in changes in whole brain evoked activation patterns in participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain and in healthy controls. The investigators will also assess while brain evoked activation patterns in response to a pressure pain stimulus in the presence of three light stimuli in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain and healthy controls.

Affect-based Impulsivity in Borderline Personality Disorder

The purpose of this research study is to investigate how personality traits and neuroendocrine systems relate to decision-making patterns in individuals 18-45 years old. The main question it aims to answer is how neuroendocrine activity impacts decision-making. Participants will complete online behavioral tasks, a stress induction procedure, self-report surveys, and a cognitive assessment. During the session, psychophysiological measures will be collected, including electrocardiogram (ECG) and cardiac impedance (ICG) to monitor heart rate and blood flow, as well as electrodermal activity (EDA), blood drop samples, and saliva collection to assess nervous system activity.

Opioid Use Disorder and Pain

The goal of this observational study is to characterize the brain processes of pain avoidance learning dysfunctions in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). The main questions it aims to answer are: Compared with healthy controls, do those with OUD exhibit impaired avoidance learning in response to pain? What are the brain processes that are associated with this avoidance learning dysfunction? Do these brain processes serve to predict future use or relapse? Researchers will compare those with OUD and healthy controls to determine avoidance learning dysfunction and its relationship with opioid use. Participants will be performing a learning task inside an fMRI scanner. Those with OUD will also be followed up for a year to determine future opioid use.

Innovative Multidisciplinary Strategies for Combating Severe Dengue

The goal of this observational study is to identify biomarkers and host factors associated with dengue severity in patients from dengue-endemic regions. The main question it aims to answer is: Can multi-omics approaches predict disease severity and identify key factors contributing to severe dengue infections? Participants will include individuals with dengue infection, and the study will analyze their blood samples using multi-omics techniques to uncover host immune responses, disease pathogenesis, and cellular pathway interactions. The study will also assess the role of primary and secondary infections, virus serotypes, and immunological factors in disease progression. Findings aim to support disease management, improve severity prediction, and identify potential therapeutic targets to prevent severe outcomes.

Cardiopulmonary Responses to 6-Minute Stepper Test in Bronchiectasis Versus Healthy Controls

Individuals with bronchiectasis exhibit productive cough and recurrent lung infections as well as reduced exercise capacity, physical activity level, and respiratory and peripheral muscle strength. 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is often used to assess exercise capacity in chronic lung diseases. 6MWT is recommended to be performed along a flat corridor, at least 30 m long, with low pedestrian traffic, on a hard surface. To overcome technical limitations during 6MWT, 6-minute stepper test (6MST) has been proposed to assess exercise capacity. Another test that provides information about exercise capacity is the 1-minute sit-to-stand test (1STS). To our knowledge, there is limited information about different exercise tests including 6MST and 1STS and cardiopulmonary responses to these tests in individuals with bronchiectasis. Therefore, this study aims to compare the responses to the 6MST between individuals with bronchiectasis and healthy controls and to investigate the relationships among 6MST, 6MWT, and 1STS responses and muscle strength.