We need you! Participate in an FPN study now.
At the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience we are proud of the research studies conducted by our researchers. But we cannot do it without you. Do you want to be a participant in one of the cutting edge FPN research studies? Take a look below at the ongoing studies.
Current studies you can take part in:
Emotion regulation across the menstrual cycle
Why is it that, as a woman, some days you handle things perfectly, and other days everything feels overwhelming? 💭
We’re looking for participants for our study on emotion regulation across the menstrual cycle.
In this study, we explore how emotion regulation changes over time and how people deal with it in daily life. You’ll take part in an EMA study, meaning you’ll answer short questions on your phone throughout the day over the course of two menstrual cycles.
- Everything is done online via an app
- Quick daily check-ins (just a few minutes!)
- Contribute to interesting research
- Earn up to 7 SONA credits
Interested in joining? Download the flyer here.
Stories We Remember: A Study on News and Recall
Description: In this study, participants will read several news stores and be asked to rate their memory for these events. This questionnaire takes approximately 25-30 minutes to complete. At the end of the survey, participants can indicate if they want to receive Sona credits or enter the raffle for a 15€ Amazon gift card.
Study on psilocybin, attention, anxiety, and brain activity
We are investigating whether the psychedelic psilocybin changes attention and cognition beyond the acute drug experience, and whether these changes are linked to anxiety symptoms and brain function.
We are looking for healthy adults aged 18–40 who have previously used a psychedelic drug and experience mild anxiety or social anxiety in daily life.
Participation includes:
- 1 dosing day with psilocybin or placebo
- Short follow-up test sessions over the next 4 days
- Questionnaires, computer tasks, blood and saliva samples
- Longer-term follow-up assessments over 3 months
- Optional MRI sessions for a subset of participants
Total participation is 13.5 hours spread over about 14 weeks (or 17.5 hours if selected for MRI)
Compensation: €176 (or €228 with MRI)
You can see if you qualify for the study here: https://maastrichtuniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iebb5U0mmk3mBM?Q_CHL=qr
Join our study on water exposure, stress, and sleep
We are investigating how repeated water exposure affects psychological and physiological functioning.
We are looking for healthy volunteers aged 16 and older who are proficient in English and do not have a history of psychiatric, neurological, cardiovascular, or chronic physical illness.
Participation includes:
- 2 lab visits with questionnaires and saliva samples
- 1 stress task involving speaking in front of people
- 20 days of brief shower-based water exposure at home
- Wearing a sleep watch at night for 20 days
- A short follow-up questionnaire 1 month later
Total time commitment: 6.5 hours
Compensation: €49 or 6.5 SONA credits
If you are interested, please contact us for more information: fpn-pim_p156@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Zou uw kind het leuk vinden om monsterletters te leren in een kindvriendelijk 3T-MRI onderzoek?
Voor ons onderzoek zoeken we kinderen met of zonder dyslexie tussen 8-12 jaar.
Het onderzoek duurt max 2,5 uur en uw kind krijgt ons Leeswinst onderzoeker diploma en een cadeautje.
Dit onderzoek is onderdeel van een groter project naar betere vroege voorspelling van leesproblemen.
Interesse in deelname? 📨dyslexie@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Nieuwe inzichten verkrijgen in de symptomen van het complex regionaal pijnsyndroom door de hersenen in beeld te brengen (FABrIC)
WIJ ZOEKEN: U bent een patiënt met CRPS (unilaterale symptomen aan de hand/pols (links of rechts)) met een leeftijd tussen 18 en 65 jaar en chronische pijn (langer dan 3 maanden) die wilt deelnemen aan onze studie of u bent een kennis van deze patiënt die geen klachten heeft. We zoeken 20 patiënten met CRPS en 20 personen zonder CRPS of pijn.
DOEL ONDERZOEK: Met dit onderzoek willen we nieuwe inzichten verkrijgen in de symptomen van het CRPS door uw hersenen in beeld te brengen met behulp van Magnetische Resonantie Beeldvorming (MRI). Deze techniek maakt foto’s van uw hersenen. Tijdens een deel van de MRI hersenscans zullen we trillingen toedienen ter hoogte van uw vingertoppen en (ongevaarlijke) elektrische prikkels toedienen ter hoogte van uw pols. De prikkels ter hoogte van uw pols zullen pijnlijk aanvoelen maar wel te verdragen zijn en u kan de intensiteit zelf bepalen. We zullen meten hoe u deze prikkels ervaart.
In dit onderzoek bekijken we een groep personen die pijn ervaren langer dan 3 maanden en de diagnose CRPS hebben. Deze groep patiënten zullen we vergelijken met een groep gezonde personen die pijnvrij zijn en geen klachten hebben. We onderzoeken hoe symptomen, gevoeligheid voor een reeks aan prikkels (zoals druk, aanraking) en de structuur en functie van uw hersenen met elkaar in verband staan. We zullen ook beoordelen hoe factoren zoals overtuigingen over pijn en emoties uw ervaring van de toegediende prikkels kunnen beïnvloeden.
Met dit onderzoek hopen we de oorzaken van de klachten van personen met CRPS en chronische pijn beter te begrijpen. Met deze kennis willen we de behandeling verbeteren met als doel symptomen te verlichten en kwaliteit van leven van patiënten te verbeteren.
U ONTVANGT: Een waardebon van €42, vergoeding van uw reiskosten en een verslag met de onderzoeksresultaten. Indien u dit wenst kunnen we ook vervoer voorzien en een overnachting in Maastricht bij 2 opeenvolgende testdagen.
WAAROM DEELNEMEN: Met uw deelname helpt u de onderzoekers om meer inzicht te krijgen in de hersen-, psychologische-, sensorische- en pijnmechanismen die betrokken zijn bij CRPS symptomen. Met uw deelname helpt u ook mee in de zoektocht naar een betere behandeling van CRPS omdat we met dit onderzoek meer inzicht zullen verkrijgen in de onderliggende mechanismen van dit syndroom (bv. invloed van het brein).
Interesse in deelnemen? Stuur ons een e-mail: pijn_en_brein-fpn@maastrichtuniversity.nl
How Vivid is your Imagination?
Imagine a juicy apple. Is it red or green? How much detail do you see? How vivid does the image feel?
We are looking for healthy participants (16 years or older) to participate in a project that investigates our ability to create images like this in our mind. We are interested in the wide range of mental imagery vividness from weak or absent to very strong and vivid - and anything in-between. As a first step, we need to collect a database of people with a wide range of mental imagery vividness to help us get an overview of the variation in our sample.
Filling in the online questionnaire will take you only around 5 minutes.
Does your memory perform well under pressure?
To investigate how different types of memory perform under pressure, and how hormones influence this, we are looking for student participants.
Who?
Healthy (fe)males, 16 - 35 years
Who not?
Individuals with cardio-respiratory disease, pregnancy, >10 cigarettes/week, psychological disorder
Where?
Universiteitssingel 40
Duration?
90 min and is rewarded with 1.5 SONA point or a raffle 1/5 change to win 20euro (cadeaubon.nl voucher)
In this study you will be randomly placed in one of two conditions: a control condition or a condition in which you will do a test with cold water that can cause a feeling of discomfort and can be painful. Both conditions are followed by two different memory tests. Females will fill-in some questions regarding their hormonal cycle.
Interested? Sign-up by sending an email to fpn-mupstudy@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Brain Research and Integrative Neuroscience Network for COVID-19 (BRAINN)
UM is part of the twinning project Brain Research and Integrative Neuroscience Network for COVID-19 (BRAINN), together with the University of Cyprus (Cyprus), King’s College London (UK) and the University of Ghent (Belgium). BRAINN aims to characterize the effects of COVID-19 on brain health and to elevate the standards of assessment, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of patients with mental health and cognitive problems due to COVID-19. To this purpose, the University of Maastricht is conducting an online study using different cognitive assessment tools adapted in Dutch to explore neuropsychological deficits in people with prolonged COVID-19 (compared to general Dutch population); that is, people who still experience difficulties, despite the end of the disease. The participation is open to all Dutch-speaking population, and it’s the first of its kind in the Netherlands. For more information, please visit
https://www.ucy.ac.cy/brainn/welcome/ and, if interested in participating, please click here.
Unlock Your Perceptual Potential!
Ever thought about how our eyes make sense of the world around us? The adventure into perceptual skill learning awaits, and we want YOU to be part of the journey!
👀 What's In Store?
At our cutting-edge Perception Lab, we're running multiple projects simultaneously focused on visual perceptual learning. Whether you're into orientation discrimination, texture segregation, or contrast sensitivity – there's a study for everyone! Visual perceptual learning is like a workout for your brain's visual processing. It's the process through which your brain hones its ability to interpret and make sense of visual information. Picture it as a fascinating journey where your neurons get into shape, enhancing your ability to discriminate subtle differences, segregate textures with finesse, and amplify your contrast sensitivity.
🚀 Why Participate?
- Flexibility: Choose projects that align with your interests – short term (five days), long term (up to 6 weeks), the choice is yours!
- Compensation: Earn while you learn! We offer monetary rewards or SONA credits (up to 7 credits) for your time and dedication.
- Be the Scientist: Contribute to scientific discovery and be at the forefront of interesting research
🔍 How to Join the Fun:
Simply shoot us an email expressing your interest, and we'll guide you through. Send an email to ylka.kolken@maastrichtuniversity.nl and we will figure out what study suits you best!
WOW! Where did the grey square go?
Imagine you would only see objects and surface’s boundaries but nothing in-between. You would not be able to grasp objects. Functional visual perception requires perceiving edges as well as filling-in the surfaces within. How do we fill-in surfaces?
We are running a behavioural-fMRI study to understand the underlying mechanisms of surface filling-in.
Your task will be to indicate when the grey square is filled in by the background texture and completely disappears.
The study consists of at least 3 sessions. The first session is a behavioural session with eye-tracking of ~1h30 maximum in the psychophysics lab to assess your focus, your capacity to continuously fill-in this square. If the behavioural results show enough filling-in, we will continue with two fMRI sessions of ~2h each.
You can be compensated by 1 SONA points or 7.5e per hour for all of the sessions.
If you are interested, motivated and able to focus well, please send an email to anna.razafindrahaba@maastrichtuniversity.nl and kenshu.koiso@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Student Mapping Study
Are you a student at either Maastricht, Leiden or Amsterdam (UvA) Universities? Do you own a smartphone and have a good knowledge of English? Then you might be the right participant for our 4-weeks smartphone study. We are curious to learn more about your daily life, behaviours and emotions
By participating in the study you can get 2 Research credits and up to 60€, or 75€ in VVV vouchers as compensation. Do you want to join?