This cross-sectional study aims to examine the impact of visual cues on listeners' perception of speaker age. Eligible speaking participants include adult males and females between the ages of 18–90 years old without voice or hearing disorders. Eligibility will be determined by research coordinators via patient demographic forms and validated voice and hearing assessments. Speaking participants will have two audio recordings taken: (1) sustained vowel sound and (2) reading of the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V), a standardized tool employed to evaluate the perceptual characteristics of voice quality across a wide age range. To develop the materials for the listening participants, CAPE-V audio recordings obtained from the speaking participants will be systematically paired with race and age-matched photographs obtained from a publicly available database. The finalized materials will encompass three experimental conditions: (1) audio only, (2) audio presented with a standardized photograph of an individual matched to the speaker's gender and age, and (3) audio presented with a standardized photograph of an individual matched for gender but differing in age. Naïve listening participants, blinded to the experimental conditions, will then be presented with these materials in a randomized order and asked to estimate the perceived ages of the speakers. Additionally, basic acoustic analyses of each sustained vowel sound recording (e.g., jitter, shimmer) will be conducted by a trained professional using the speech analysis software PRAAT.

The purpose of this study is to learn more about late-onset epilepsy of unknown etiology (LOEU), which is defined as an onset of seizure activity in late life (age 60 or above) without a clear neurological cause. That is, many older adults will experience seizures due to neurological conditions such as stroke, brain injury, tumor, or infection. However, other individuals will also develop seizures with no identified cause.

Participation entails a single study visit lasting 2-3 hours including a fasting blood draw, completion of standardized cognitive testing, and several questionnaires. The goals of the study include to examine blood markers that can help us to better understand the condition including dementia risk, and how these markers may impact the clinical presentation of the condition. No interventions/treatments are included with this study.

The purpose of this study is to better understand how practicing a new skill builds a stable memory and how this memory is maintained over time as one gets older. A better understanding how memories are controlled in healthy aging may help to develop better treatments for memory problems.
The study's main question is how the different brain regions communicate with each other when one is retrieving memories of a well-practiced skill. Specifically, when and where the brain waves that are related to skill memory are produced. The brief changes in the brain will be recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a medical technology that looks at blood flow in the brain. To assess electrical changes in the brain, the brain waves, electroencephalography (EEG) will be used. Combining EEG and fMRI will allow the precise detection of the exact location where the brain is active at any moment in time.
This study is conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). The study will take about one to two weeks and involves two visits to MUSC including an interview and combined brain recording and brain scan during task practice (EEG-fMRI) and up to 7 days of online skill practice at home. Volunteers in this research study must be free of any brain disease or brain injuries and have to be in good health status. Approximately 40 volunteers will take part in this study.

As people get older, understanding speech in a noisy environment can become more difficult. The MUSC Hearing Research Program is seeking healthy adults between 25 and 89 years of age to participate in a research study to investigate the connection between listening difficulties and the brain. Payment is provided for participation and scheduling is flexible. The study involves two visits. Participants must be able to complete an MRI. Please contact us if you would like to participate in this research or learn more about our study.

The Participant REgistry for Prevention-focused Aging/dementia REsearch (PREPARE) is a database of individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment who are interested in participating in research on aging/Alzheimer's disease and related dementias conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). PREPARE will connect MUSC researchers with potential participants so they can provide information about studies for which they may be eligible. PREPARE will also collect survey data from people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and their study partners to better understand the impact of this condition on daily functioning.

For this study, we are recruiting 54 individuals with Parkinson's Disease and Freezing of Gait (FOG) who are planning to undergo Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). The objective of this study is to better understand the FOG response to DBS. Prior to DBS study participants will undergo a MRI scan, behavioral assessment related to walking, a cognitive evaluation, and assessment of other Parkinson's disease symptoms. Following DBS participants will repeat these assessments at multiple timepoints over the period of one year. Overall, participants will complete a total of 7 visits over a period of approximately 1 year.

The goal of this study is to evaluate sex and gender differences across adulthood (18+) in reasons for using cannabis and the perceived severity of consequences associated with cannabis use. We are also interested in understanding how these reasons for cannabis use and perceived severity of consequences are related to other mental and physical health factors. Interested individuals will first complete a brief screening survey. Based on the results of this screening survey, eligible participants will immediately be invited to complete the survey remotely online via a secure web-link. Participants can expect to complete the survey in 30-45 minutes and will be reimbursed $30 via electronic gift card (e.g., Amazon).

This is a Phase II research study to determine dosing of non-invasive brain stimulation for patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and current or past depression. The brain stimulation treatment used in this study is called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). rTMS is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for depression. The goal of the study is to see if brain stimulation can be used for MCI patients to improve memory, thinking, and mood, and what dose of stimulation works best.

The study uses a form of rTMS called intermittent theta burst rTMS (accelerated iTBS). This treatment has not been FDA-approved for MCI patients. This double-blind study requires 11 study visits over the course of six months.

Sometimes, it is necessary to re-learn a previously learned movement behavior, for example, a bad posture during the golf drive or while playing the piano. Unlearning or relearning an intensively trained behavior is particularly important if the behavior is hampering recovery, for example, in chronic pain or after a stroke. With this study, we experimentally test the brain mechanisms that control the change of pre-existing stable memories of a motor skill with electroencephalography (EEG). We will then use non-invasive brain stimulation to modulate these brain mechanisms and test if it is possible to change the pre-existing motor memory and the learning of a new motor skill.

Smell loss has been reported in more than 50% of older adults. Currently there are no validated methods for classifying patients with smell loss in aging based on either disease site or process. This study aims to better understand how age affects the sense of smell. This study will involve those 50 and older and will take up to 5 years, with 5 follow up annual visits, or can be done remotely.