Treatment of patients with acute head trauma or concern for intracranial hemorrhage includes non-contrast brain CT to evaluate for the extent of the trauma. Most CT scans only includes the acquisition of axial images. Subtle subdural hematomas can be missed in these types of scans. It is believed that including additional angles in imaging will better detect these subdural hematomas. This research could potentially result in changing the current standard-of-care imaging method for routine brain CT.

MUSC Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs is conducting an alcohol research study investigating the brain and genetic mechanisms that are related to alcoholism. Individuals (ages 21-60) who complete the study will be compensated for their participation. This study seeks people who are light alcohol drinkers (less than 7 drinks per week for women, or 14 per week for men) so that they may be compared to people who are heavier drinkers or dependent upon alcohol. The study involves a psychiatric interview and self-report questionnaires, a blood draw for genetic testing, and a 1-hour magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. The same procedures are currently being conducted among heavy drinkers and alcohol-dependent people, and data from participants in this study will ultimately be compared to data from these people. For more information, call Mark at (843) 792-1222.

MUSC Translational Research of Addiction & Integrative Neuroscience Laboratory is conducting a research study using brain imaging to investigate the effects of smoking cessation aids on withdrawal symptoms. If volunteers complete the informed consent process and are eligible for participation, they will be enrolled in the study and undergo a training session. At the end of the training visit, participants will be randomized to the NAC or Placebo condition, and undergo a 3-Day smoking abstinence period and while self-administering study medication, and return to the lab on Day-4 to undergo and fMRI scanning session.

This study will provide preliminary information regarding the durability of long-term symptom relief after response to acute TMS administration in a medication-free population comparing two different methods of maintenance treatment: a) scheduled once monthly TMS treatment with TMS reintroduction for symptomatic worsening or b) regularly scheduled observational follow up with on-demand TMS for symptomatic worsening.

The overall goal of this project is to develop and refine approaches to characterize brain networks. We will collect fMRI data in healthy young adults (18-25) to establish this methodology in a sample that can tolerate relatively long periods of scanning. In addition to comparing network properties, this project will determine the minimum length of resting state scanning that can capture a stable network architecture. This will address the utility of this method for use in challenging patient populations in future studies.

This study is to designed to evaluate and extend the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging in the brain and other body parts.

This study will use functional magnetic resonance imaging to understand how the human brain processes visual information. We will try to determine how humans are able to identify objects in their visual environment, and how human are able to generate mental images of remembered scenes. The results of the research will provide an understanding of how the visual system is affected by damage to visual brain areas, and will contribute to the development of new methods for monitoring internal cognitive states that are difficult to measure with behavioral assays.

The purpose of the research is to study how the brain changes after playing with a brain training computer program. Subjects will be randomized to either the control group or to the group that will receive cognitive training. The training group will complete a 12 week computer based program. Both groups will undergo specialized MRIs at baseline, 12 weeks and 6 months. The images will be compared for any brain changes between the groups. Eligible subjects will be between the ages of 60 and 75 years of age.

This study is being done to determine if the changes in cholesterol levels by the use of statins can result in changes in the brain's micro-structure. These changes are going to be studied to see if they cause changes in a person's ability to process thoughts. This study is for women between the ages of 45 and 85.

The Resveratrol study is a Phase 2, multicenter, placebo-controlled study in mild to moderate AD patients sponsored by the National Institute on Aging through the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study. This study's primary objective is to assess the safety and tolerability of the treatment of resveratrol over a 12-month period as assessed by laboratory tests, cognitive and functional testing, biomarkers, and MRI results. Another objective of the study is to determine whether resveratrol affects insulin and glucose metabolism.