NeMo
Neurocognition and Mood in adolescence and young adulthood
More than 6.5 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with a clinically significant mood disorder. This statistic is likely to obscure the true prevalence and nature of mood disorders, as many more people are either never diagnosed or receive a diagnosis that is later determined to be inaccurate. For patients and families, the cost of such ambiguous or delayed diagnosis is serious, in particular because the early symptoms of mood regulation problems tend to emerge during adolescence and young adulthood – a critical period during which young people are gaining independence and confronting new academic, career, and personal challenges.
The goal of the NeMo study is to discover new strategies for understanding mood disorders and emotion regulation using cognitive testing and neuroimaging.
We are recruiting teens and young adults ages 13 to 25. One group that we recruit will include people who have depression or bipolar spectrum disorders. The other group will consist of people who have never had any diagnosed mental disorder.
The study involves a research session conducted at our laboratory facilities in the Department of Psychology at CU Boulder; in this session, you will talk with one of our trained research staff about your life experiences and moods, and perform a set of computer games that test attention and learning. After the session, you have the option of also participating in a eight-week web-based follow-up, during which we will send you a brief set of internet surveys to complete each week.
A subgroup of people who participate in the first research session will also be eligible for a second research session, also on the CU campus, which includes neuroimaging to take pictures of your brain while you play computer games.
All participants are compensated for their time, and all participants may choose to withdraw from the study at any time.
Sound interesting? Contact us to participate!