We have over a thousand volunteers on our panel, aged from 16 years. Our researchers need volunteers so that they can test theories about the functioning of the mind and brain, in healthy adults and following brain injury or disease. As volunteers move away from Cambridge, or have less time to participate in studies, we are always in need of new members for the volunteer panel.
Typical experiments that are run at the unit in Chaucer Road involve simple, computer-based tests of vision, hearing, memory or language. With your help, our researchers gain insights into core human abilities, and acquire data from healthy individuals that can be compared with individuals who have sustained brain injuries. In addition, a number of researchers at the unit use functional brain imaging to investigate the brain systems involved in attention, emotion, memory and language. There are three main techniques that we use to record brain responses, all of which are completely safe and non-invasive, they do not involve needles, drugs, radiation or x-rays. These techniques are fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), MEG (Magnetoencepholography), and EEG (Electroencepholography). You can learn more about these brain imaging techniques on our facilities page, or you can read more about the research conducted at the unit in CBU Newsletter.
It is up to you to decide what sorts of experiments you would like to participate in and how often you would like to volunteer. In all cases, you will be generously rewarded for your time (ordinarily £6 per hour or £10 per hour for brain imaging studies) and will receive a contribution to your travel expenses. If you participate in an fMRI study we will also give you a picture of your brain.
We work in Chaucer Road, a short walk south of the city centre. You can look at a map and get directions to Chaucer Road here. Most of our experiments take place at Chaucer Road, though some brain imaging studies take place at the Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, at Addenbrookes hospital (on this map).
If you are interested in taking part in our studies, you can apply to join the panel here.