Research studies

Investigating the role of human brainstem noradrenergic centres in sedation, analgesia and haemodynamic control. You will be asked to visit the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre on two occasions. First Visit: During the first visit, we will screen you for any contraindications to MRI and conduct a general health assessment. We will provide detailed information about the study tasks, and you will have the opportunity to ask any questions. This visit will last up to 1 hour. Second Visit: During the second visit, you will receive a drug called Dexmedetomidine. First, your brain will be scanned using MRI. Then, while you remain on the MRI bed, you will be administered Dexmedetomidine. The dose will be low and is expected to make you only moderately sleepy. After this, your brain will be scanned again while you are receiving the drug. During the scans, we will measure your brain activity as you perform a series of tasks. These include watching a screen, completing a hand-grip task, and experiencing mild stimulation to your skin (which may be moderately painful). This second visit will last up to 5 hours. You will receive £120 plus travel expenses for your participation. Start Date: June 11, 2025    5 hours    Age Eligibility: 18-50 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    120     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Exploring Brain Activity with Ultrasound – Volunteers Needed (& paid!) We are recruiting participants for a paid research study investigating how gentle ultrasound stimulation affects the human brain. The study focuses on a small area at the back of the head and uses a safe, non-invasive technique called transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS), which has been shown to temporarily influence brain activity. After stimulation, we will measure brain chemistry using a scanning method called spectroscopy. We will also take images of your brain to ensure the ultrasound is accurately targeted. To take part, you must be aged 21–60, fluent in English, able to give informed consent, and not currently taking medication that affects the central nervous system. You will first complete a short online screening questionnaire (around 10 minutes total, spread over a few days) to check eligibility for MRI scanning and TUS. If eligible, the study will take place at the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) across three visits. Session 1 involves a 30-minute MRI scan. Sessions 2 and 3 last 90 minutes and include ultrasound stimulation followed by a 30-minute MRI scan. You will be paid £70 for your time. Start Date: Jan. 13, 2026    3 1h sessions    Age Eligibility: 21-60 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    £70.00     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Moral Decisions of Self-driving Cars We are looking for participants to take part in our online experiment, in which they will be presented with multiple hypothetical scenarios concerning autonomous driving and indicate their preferences in the decisions that self-driving cars make. The experiment takes rouhgly 30 minutes. Unfortunately we don't have any funds to pay you but we greatly appreciate your contribution to the study! Please register your interest if you wish to do so and we will send you a link to the online study foryou to complete. Start Date: May 2, 2025    30 minutes    Age Eligibility: 18+ (years)    Location: ONLINE    0     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Memory for Feedback We are looking for volunteers aged 18+ to take part in a study investigating memory for written essay feedback. The study will involve two parts that are separated by a period of 48 hours. During Part 1, you will be asked to write a short essay and to review some personalised essay feedback. Part 2 will involve a short essay editing task where you will be asked to implement the feedback that you received during Part 1. The study will take place in the SPARK Building (located on Maindy Road). If you are interested, please contact allenjj2@cardiff.ac.uk for more information and availability. Start Date: March 11, 2026    40 Minutes    Age Eligibility: 18+ (years)    Location: PSYCHOLOGY    20 in vouchers     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Participants for sleep study! 🛌 😴 We are currently looking for volunteers aged 18-35 to take part in a sleep study investigating the relationship between sleep, memory, and emotions. The study involves: - Completing brief questionnaires. - Completing behavioural tasks while wearing an EEG cap. - Spending one night in our sleep lab at CUBRIC, Cardiff University. - A follow-up task at the end of the two weeks. You will receive up to £50 compensation for your help! 💸 Thanks! Start Date: Oct. 1, 2025    15    Age Eligibility: 18-35 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    50     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Cybersecurity and Psychology experiment/game. Are you passionate about cybersecurity and decision-making or just want to help a guy out? I'm seeking participants for my research exploring how we process information when making critical security classifications. https://rerunexp1-6ca355a5c0f2.herokuapp.com/ I'm a PhD researcher investigating how information gathering impacts decision-making, cognitive load, and trust during cybersecurity data classification tasks and I need interested participants to complete my 30-minute online experiment designed around a cybersecurity scenario. All you need to take part is a computer with a mouse! In exchange you will contribute to vital research understanding human factors in security and gain access to any research papers published from this study. Any questions please contact otterm@Cardiff.ac.uk. https://rerunexp1-6ca355a5c0f2.herokuapp.com/ Start Date: June 3, 2025    30 Minutes    Age Eligibility: 18+ (years)    Location: ONLINE    0     Additional Info    Visit Website  

Sleep for research! We are currently looking for volunteers aged 18-35 to take part in a sleep study investigating the relationship between sleep, memory, and mood. The study involves: 1) completing some short questionnaires about mood every day for 2 weeks. 2) Reporting on the happiest memories you have. 3) Attending our sleep lab for one night 4) A follow-up task at the end of the two weeks (this may be done either online or at CUBRIC, Cardiff University. You will receive up to £50 compensation for your help. If you are interested, please contact us at tpms-cubric@cardiff.ac.uk for more Information and to check your eligibility. Start Date: Dec. 12, 2024    2 weeks    Age Eligibility: 18-35 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    50     Additional Info    Visit Website  

Language processing in Healthy Participant using MEG We are looking for healthy adult participants (aged 18+) to take part in an MEG study. This study aims to determine how the human brain predicts and processes language in real time. As part of the study you will undergo a short interview, designed to produce speech samples in healthy individuals, followed by a scanning session in the MEG where you will complete three short tasks. Overall, the whole study should take around 1h 30 mins. You will receive £15 compensation for your help. If you are interested, please register your interest or email for further details! Email: knopikl@cardiff.ac.uk Start Date: Feb. 2, 2026    1h 30 mins    Age Eligibility: 18+ (years)    Location: CUBRIC    15     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Bipolar, Schizophrenia and Psychosis Research Initiative (B-SPRINT) B-SPRINT, of the Brain and Genomics Hub, aims to improve how we diagnose conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder and psychosis, while also identifying new avenues for treatment. The findings will contribute to improving clinical care for these conditions. Once you have registered your interest, we will email you with a copy of our participant information sheet. Eligibility: - Have experience of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or psychosis - Be aged between 16-70 years - Live within an hour and a half from Cardiff, and be able to travel to Cardiff University for the study visit What taking part involves: - A 20 minute screening call to assess eligibility - Answer some questions about your mental health experiences from throughout your life - Complete some tasks related to memory and concentration - Take part in a speech task - Provide blood samples - Participate in two brain scans; a Magnetoencephalography (MEG) scan and a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan Start Date: April 1, 2025    7 hours    Age Eligibility: 16-70 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    120     Additional Info    Visit Website  

Non-invasive histology of the brain microstructure The main aim of the project is to develop, implement and validate quantitative models and estimation techniques to characterise the brain tissue microstructure in vivo by using MRI data from different modalities. Start Date: June 12, 2024    45    Age Eligibility: 18-60 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    0     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Sleep for research ! Sleep study investigating the relationship between sleep, memory, and mood.​ The study stretches over a 2 week period with at home questionnaires and tasks and requires one night in the Sleep Lab after 1 week. Start Date: March 1, 2024    2 weeks    Age Eligibility: 18-35 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    50     Additional Info    Visit Website  

EEG Memory Study 🧠 This study will investigate the memory processes using EEG. Participants will be required to perform a memory task while the EEG is recording the underlying neural activity. Requirements: 1. Cardiff University students 2. 18 years and over 3. English as first language 4. Healthy or corrected vision 5. Not taking psychotropic medication Start Date: Feb. 23, 2026    120 minutes    Age Eligibility: 18+ (years)    Location: CUBRIC    20     Additional Info    Register Interest  

The effect of sleep on creative integration We’re looking for participants aged 18-35 to take part in a psychology study investigating the sleep related benefit to creative thought. Study will involve a computer-based learning task followed by either a sleep or wake period returning to the lab for a test session. Participants will be required for 2 x ~ 1-hour sessions, separated by 12 hours and will be paid £14 for their time upon completion of the study. Please email Lordj1@cardiff.ac.uk for more details, referencing ‘RI study’ Start Date: April 10, 2024    2    Age Eligibility: 18-35 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    14     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Social media and teens' cognition We're looking for teen participants, aged 13-17, to take part in a study investigating how social media influences the way adolescents think and behave. This study involves coming to our lab at the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre and doing computer-based tasks as well as answering a couple of questionnaires. Overall, the experiment lasts up to 1h, and you will receive £10 for your participation. Who can take part? Teenagers aged 13-17 Using social media platforms (such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter…) Without diagnosed developmental conditions, mental health conditions, special educational needs, or neurological disorders If you or someone you know might be interested in taking part, get in touch at teens-and-screens@cardiff.ac.uk Start Date: June 16, 2025    1h    Age Eligibility: 13-17 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    10     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Cerebrovascular contributions to Menopause-related brain fog Why do some women get brain fog during menopause and some don't? What is happening to the brain's physiology during this hormonal transition? To investigate this, this study will involve multiple testing sessions over a 6 month period; once a week for the first month, then once a month after that (9 sessions total). Each session will involve a 45-minute MRI scan, questionnaires (e.g., about your level of brain fog) and (monthly) cognitive tests. We're looking for women going through perimenopause with and without recent experience of brain fog. Participants will be reimbursed £20 a session for their time via bank transfer, up to a total of £180 for all sessions. Start Date: Sept. 1, 2025    2-2.5 hours per session    Age Eligibility: 40-60 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    20 per session     Additional Info    Register Interest  

Spend a night in the sleep lab We are currently looking for volunteers aged 18-35 to take part in a sleep study investigating the relationship between sleep, memory, and emotion. Who are we looking for? Healthy individuals aged 18-35; Normal or corrected to normal vision; No history of mental health or neurological problems; No disordered sleeping patterns. What does this involve? Wear a smart watch and complete a sleep diary for 12 days; 1 night spent at the lab (CUBRIC) (after wearing the watch for 3 days); 1 follow-up session after a week (less than an hour). You will receive up to £50 compensation for your help. Start Date: April 28, 2025    2 weeks    Age Eligibility: 18-35 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    50     Additional Info    Visit Website  

Cardiff Curiosity Project We’re inviting children and adolescents ages 10-14 to take part in an exciting research study, exploring how curiosity influences learning across development. Participants will visit Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) and take part in fun, computer-based tasks involving answering trivia questions. Including one hour inside an MRI scanner, with a certificate with a picture of their brain (that we will take when they are in the MRI scanner). The full session can last up to 3.5 hours (including breaks), and each participant will receive a £35 voucher or BACS payment as a thank you. If you or someone you know might be interested, please get in touch at curiousbrain@cardiff.ac.uk. Start Date: June 25, 2025    3 to 3.5 Hours    Age Eligibility: 10-14 (years)    Location: CUBRIC    35 Voucher/BACS Payment     Additional Info    Register Interest