Dynamic Neural Systems Underlying Social-emotional Functions in Older Adults

a study on Loneliness Neuroimaging Meditation

Summary

Eligibility
for people ages 60-120 (full criteria)
Healthy Volunteers
healthy people welcome
Location
at UCSF
Dates
study started
study ends around
Principal Investigator
by Lorenzo Pasquini (ucsf)
Headshot of Lorenzo Pasquini
Lorenzo Pasquini

Description

Summary

Assess the impact of a remote, app-delivered digital meditation intervention on emotional well-being of lonely older adults. Neuroimaging, electrophysiological (EEG), and autonomic physiology will be used to assess the neural correlates of the intervention. EEG and autonomic physiology will be collected while participants watch 30 min of an awe-inspiring movie. fMRI and autonomic physiology will be collected in the context of a social exploration/exploitation task.

Keywords

Loneliness, Older Adults, fMRI, Emotions, EEG, Digital Intervention, Meditation, Methods, intervention, Baseline physiology

Eligibility

You can join if…

Open to people ages 60-120

  • 60 years of age or older
  • English language fluency
  • Naive to meditation practices (not actively meditating more than one hour per month and/or meditation practice for less than a year in their entire life-time)
  • No MRI contra-indications
  • Cognitively healthy (no diagnosis of dementia, stroke, developmental disorders, or major systemic diseases that may impact cognitive function)

You CAN'T join if...

  • Below 60 years of age
  • Not fluent in English
  • Active meditator (meditating more than one hour per month and/or meditation practice for more than a year in their entire life-time).
  • Presence of a severe psychiatric (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD), neurological (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, dementia, multiple sclerosis), or developmental disorder (e.g. autism)
  • Systemic disease (e.g. major recent surgeries, cancer)
  • Claustrophobia
  • Contraindications for MR safety (e.g. metal in body, cochlea implants)

Location

  • University of California San Francisco accepting new patients
    San Francisco 5391959 California 5332921 94158 United States

Lead Scientist at University of California Health

  • Lorenzo Pasquini (ucsf)
    I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Memory and Aging center in 2016, where I used fMRI and autonomic physiology to study the neural basis of social-emotional functions in older adults and patients with frontotemporal dementia.

Details

Status
accepting new patients
Start Date
Completion Date
(estimated)
Sponsor
University of California, San Francisco
ID
NCT05645835
Study Type
Interventional
Participants
Expecting 75 study participants
Last Updated