Children’s Studies FAQ //
1: How do I schedule my child?
2: What is involved in this study?
3: How many visits are required?
5: Are there any risks involved in participation?
6: Is my child exposed to anything harmful, including radiation?
8: Will I be with my child during the study?
10: Do I need to bring anything to the clinic with my child?
12: Do I get any kind of compensation for participating?
Have more questions?
(505) 272-9297
childstudy@mrn.org
How do I schedule my child?You may call (272-9297) or email (childstudy@mrn.org) us to schedule a visit. Depending on the study, we will schedule the appointment around your child’s sleep/wake habits. If your child is asked to be awake during the study, we request that you schedule at the time that they are normally alert and active and not during regular meal times. If your child is required to be asleep during the study, we ask that you schedule your child at the most likely time that he/she will sleep for a period of at least 1/2 hour without disturbance. This may be at naptime or at bedtime. However, we have found our sleep studies to be most successful during the bedtime hours.
What is involved in this study?
You and your child will come to the clinic, be shown the procedure, and if you agree to participate, you will be asked to read and sign the appropriate consent forms. All of the studies that we are conducting are focused around measuring your child’s brain activity. We use MEG to measure the activity that is naturally occurring in your child’s brain either resting or in response to a gentle stimulus. MEG is completely safe, painless, and non-invasive. We may also use EEG and MRI, which are also safe and painless, to collect additional data. Some studies also include behavioral testing (an investigator observes and interacts with your child to evaluate their development), collection of genetic/DNA samples from saliva, and collection of hair and finger nail samples
Normally, the neuroimaging aspect of the study is a one-time visit. Sometimes, the first visit is distracting for children while they are familiarizing themselves with a new environment. Therefore, we may ask you to return if we were not able to obtain a sufficient amount of data. You and your child may also participate in developmental diagnostic or behavioral testing consisting of questionnaires for you, the parent, about your child. This aspect requires that your child be awake and alert and will be scheduled separately from the neuroimaging segment. The number of visits for a particular study will be noted in the consent form.
Yes. This is a completely safe and passive neuroimaging process. It only requires that your child lay still with his/her head resting on a specially designed bowl-shaped “pillow”, or headrest while we collect data that naturally occurs in the brain.
Are there any risks involved in participation?
There are no direct risks to you or your child from the neuroimaging procedure. Our methods are completely non-invasive, meaning that we are passively measuring the activity that is naturally occurring in the brain rather than applying any external signal to the brain. We minimize the risk of a loss of privacy by using randomly assigned participant numbers. You and your child’s name are kept confidential and protected on a secure password-protected computer which is solely maintained by one person. Your personal identifiable information is never directly linked to any published findings.
Is my child exposed to anything harmful, including radiation?
Absolutely not. Your child is not exposed to anything harmful. This is a passive and non-invasive neuroimaging study. No radiation is used in this study. We simply measure your child’s natural brain activity.
The neuroimaging data collection takes 30 minutes to 1 hour. If your child needs to sleep for the study, it will take longer to allow time for your child to fall asleep. We try to minimize the amount of time it takes for your child to go to sleep by providing a quiet, dark environment. The behavioral testing can take between 1-2 hours.
Will I be with my child during the study?
While you may choose to be in the room with your child during the neuroimaging session, it is preferable that you watch from a video monitor and speaker system located directly outside of the room. An investigator will be in the room with your child at all times. Should you choose to be in the room with your child, we ask that you remain as still as possible and remove all metal and electronic devices so as not to affect data collection. You will be able to remain with your child through the developmental and behavioral testing.
Metal will interfere with the neuroimaging data quality; therefore, we request non-metal clothing. Your child may come dressed in comfortable clothing, such as sweats or pajamas that do not contain any metal including zippers, metal buttons or snaps, hair accessories, and jewelry. There are no restrictions on what your child wears for the developmental testing although they should be comfortable to allow them to play during the evaluation.
Do I need to bring anything to the clinic with my child?
Depending on the study, you can bring anything that will help ease your child into sleep, including any special toys, blankets, CDs, DVDs etc. that will comfort your child. We provide a dark room, a bed, blankets, pillows and a play pen for your convenience.
I have friends and family members who also have young infants and children. Can they also participate in one of your studies?
While we have different criteria for different studies, we would be happy to see if they qualify for one of our ongoing studies. Please feel free to share this website and our contact information with anyone who is interested.
Do I get any kind of compensation for participating?
Yes. Our studies currently allow for monetary participation reimbursement (please call for further details). You will be compensated for each visit that your child attends. We will also provide your child with a certificate of achievement/completion for a job well done!
We are typically running at least one formal study at any given time. There are usually specific criteria that we look for in the participants that we recruit for each study, for example, children within a particular age range or diagnosis. To see if your child qualifies for an ongoing study, please call us at (505) 272-9297, or send an email to childstudy@mrn.org. We would love to hear from you!
