During the COVID-19 pandemic, in person informed consent for research has become a barrier for certain low risk research studies, especially with the added exposure risk in vulnerable populations. This study will evaluate three remote teleconsent platforms by comparing remote paper consenting through Zoom, electronic consenting through REDCap and interactive consenting through Doxy.me to each other to evaluate how comfortable each participate is in working with these consenting platforms.

This study aims to determine how non-invasive ear stimulation affects learning. During this study, participants will be asked to complete surveys and come to a lab for about 2.5 hours. Researchers will measure brain waves and other body responses (heart rate), while the ear is stimulated. Participants also will be asked to complete computer tasks. Because brain activity will be measured, participants will be asked to come to the study with clean, dry hair. The study is at MUSC in Charleston. Participants will be compensated for their time. To be eligible, participants must be 18-65 years old, be able to commit 2.5 hours of time to the study, and be able to wear sensors on their hands, arms, and head and sit quietly at a computer.

There are some risks to completing this study. Some questions in the surveys ask about personal thoughts and feelings. The ear stimulation may cause tingling sensations or irritation around the ear.

There are no direct benefits to participants. This study will help researchers improve this ear stimulation as a treatment method.

Social determinants (SDOH) are now recognized as playing an important role in health care outcomes. Now more than ever, health care providers are expected to understand the patient's social background, and health care systems are being held accountable for addressing social factors as part of population health management. Health information technology (HIT) is being utilized to increase the efficiency and quality of health care, improve access to care, and enhance the public's health. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop HIT strategies that can be used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of identifying SDOH among primary care patients in the MUSC Health Care System.

Cigarette smoking is a significant public health concern. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive form of brain stimulation that has already displayed remarkable potential for producing novel, non-pharmacological interventions for depression and cigarette smokers. In this study, we will use brain MRI to guide TMS therapy for smoking cessation.

Parkinson's disease can cause lasting changes in walking and mobility. Non-invasive brain imaging methods including Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have been useful tools to understand the brains contribution to disrupted gait. In this study we are evaluating how activity in the brain in Parkinson participants changes when they are engaged in a gait-like behavior in the MRI scanner. We are seeking to recruit 10 participants with a diagnosis of PD and 10 age matched healthy control participants without a diagnosis of PD to undergo an hour of MRI scanning and an hour of gait assessments.

The goal of the study is to characterize the features of Infantile Hemangiomas before and after treatment. Certain characteristics of the hemangioma can be seen more clearly with a closer and more resolute image of the lesion (abnormal vessels etc.). Developing a greater understanding of these characteristics​ may help clinicians better predict the course of infantile hemangiomas in children.

Specific aim 1: to correlate images seen on dermoscopy with regression of the hemangioma.
Specific aim 2: to provide features that may help to predict a better response to treatment.

Trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) a form of nerve stimulation that is a safe and noninvasive way to activate the trigeminal nerve in the forehead. By stimulating the trigeminal nerve, we may be able to reduce sensitivity to various smells that are specifically sensed by the trigeminal nerve. This may help develop a new treatment for individuals that are over-sensitive to specific smells. The tools explored in this study are 1) Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (TNS) and 2) Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). Both tools are non-invasive meaning that it does not involve any surgical procedures. TNS is a form of nerve stimulation that uses pulses of electricity delivered to stickers attached to the forehead. tDCS is a form of brain stimulation that uses sponges that are attached to your forehead which deliver a small, safe electrical current that activates your brain.

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.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental health condition that increases suicide risk and affects up to 20% of military veterans and 8% of the general population. Prolonged Exposure (PE) is a highly efficacious, evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral therapy for PTSD. However, dropout rates are high (25-30%) and an estimated one-third of patients who complete PE remain symptomatic. This study directly addresses these limitations by obtaining patient perspectives on an innovative technology system that will help to personalize optimization of a critical component of PE: In Vivo Exposure (IVE).

This study explores the use of ear stimulation paired with magnetic brain stimulation to increase enhance plasticity in the motor area of the brain. In short - we are pairing 2 forms of brain stimulation and this study will have 5 different experimental visits during which healthy individuals will receive either real or placebo ear stimulation combined with real or placebo brain stimulation at the MUSC institute of Psychiatry. Motor outcomes will be recorded to determine if the combination of ear and brain stimulation increases cortical excitability.