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 Patient Registry for Participation in Aging/Alzheimer's 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 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.

This study will collect prospective data on clinical indications, outcomes, and adverse events related to Prostatic Artery Embolization (PAE) at the Medical University of South Carolina. Patients undergoing surgical treatment for benign prostatic obstruction causing LUTS will also be allowed to enroll in this registry for the purposes of comparison. Patients will be followed at 1, 3, and 12 months post-procedure, for a period of up to 5 years. Patients will remain enrolled in the registry for a period of 5 years.

This study will examine the behaviors and brains of adults between the ages of 60 and 80. Our goal is to better understand changes associated with the aging process. This includes potential changes in behavior/cognition as well as potential biomarkers for these changes (i.e. biological data like DNA, brain scans or brain activity that are related to these changes). Participants in the study will complete a number of tests that measure their cognitive, language, and sensory abilities. We will collect information about their brains using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) and we will collect information about their genes using DNA extracted from blood samples. We will examine and compare the relationship between brain and behavior at 2 time points for the same 200 individuals. All data collected in this study will be stored in the Aging Brain Cohort repository study.