The Impact of Cardiovascular Health on Brain Connectivity: an fNIRS Study

Description: Join our two session study investigating the relationship between brain connectivity and cognitive reserve, as influenced by cardiovascular health, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

• • • • Session 1: You will be asked to complete questionnaires regarding demographic and health information, physical activity levels, language history, and cognitive performance, reserve, and subjective decline.

      • Session 2: You will be asked to collect resting-state heart rate by staying still for a short period of time (approximately five minutes) followed by the completion of a cognitive task, all while wearing the fNIRS cap to collect brain images and physiological data.

Eligibility and Exclusion: 

• Participants should be healthy adults either between the ages of 18-25 or age 60 or older.

• If you are between the ages of 18 and 25, you must register through the Carleton Cognitive Science or Psychology SONA systems.

Risks: This study involves completing cognitive tasks, some of which are intentionally designed to be challenging. As a result, you may experience frustration or distress if you perceive your performance to be inadequate.

Duration and Locale: 

• Session 1: 50 minutes online.

• Session 2: 70 minutes at Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6. 

Compensation:

• If you are a Carleton student recruited through the Cognitive Science or Psychology SONA, you will receive 0.5% course credit for Session 1 and 1% course credit for Session 2. 

• If you are an older adult not recruited through SONA, you will be paid $20 for Session 1 and $20 for Session 2.

Preparation:

• To ensure that the brain imaging device (fNIRS cap) can collect accurate data, we ask participants to arrive with their hair down and as natural as possible (i.e., not tied up, styled in large or bulky updos, or covered, where possible). Please avoid wearing wigs, hats, or other non-religious head coverings during the session.

• If your head covering cannot be removed, or if your hairstyle prevents the cap from fitting properly, you will still be able to participate in the study and complete all behavioural tasks and questionnaires. In this case, only the imaging portion would be omitted.

Lead Researcher:  Leah Durham  Principal Investigator: John A.E. Anderson Ph.D., Supervisor 

This project was reviewed and cleared by the Carleton University Research Ethics Board-B (Protocol # 123013). If you have ethical concerns with the study, please contact Carleton University Research Ethics: (613) 520-2600 ext. 2517, email: ethics@carleton.ca.