To participate in On-line studies just click on the Select On-Line Studies link located on the main menu.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, you can apply to participate in local On-site studies by clicking on the Select On-Site Studies link also located on the main menu.

1) When you click on the Select On-Site Studies link, study listings for RSVP volunteers will be displayed. The most recently posted studies list are shown at the top of the page.

2) Next, mark each check box next to the study listings you'd like to apply to, then enter your RSVP member ID and the email address that you registered with in the text boxes located at the bottom of the page.

3) Finally, click on the submit button. Your profile information will be sent to each researcher whose study you selected. If you look like a good fit for a study, you will be contacted and given more information by the responsible researcher.

Currently, you must be over the age of 18 to register with us. If you agree to participate in a study, we also expect that you will arrive on time and let the responsible researcher know if you need to reschedule or cancel. Consistently reliable volunteers are much more likely to be invited back to participate in additional studies.

Since we list studies for many different labs and researchers, the requirements for each will vary. If you are contacted for a particular study you will have a chance to discuss the details with the responsible researcher before agreeing to participate.

Click [HERE] for campus maps, directions, & directory links. You can get more detailed information about a given project by contacting the lab associated with the specific study you've been invited to participate in. Click [HERE] for lab contact information.

Payments and course credits for study participation are handled by the lab staff that individual researchers work with. To find out the status of your compensation, contact the lab manager. Click [HERE] for lab contact information.

While individual labs keep records of compensation payments for IRS review, it's up to you to report any payments you may receive.

In most cases, yes. When you are contacted by a researcher about participating in a study you can discuss with them times that work with your schedule.

These actually are all new studies. However, you probably did sign up for similar studies within these labs which is why it seems that way. Every lab has a specialty area so there's a lot of overlap in the kind of questions that they ask and studies that they design. Also, some of these studies are "pilots" which means they are small studies that test to see how well the experiment design works before doing a larger study with more people. A pilot study would be listed separately from the larger "optimized" study.

So, while they are new studies, you're right in the sense that you are may have already applied to help out with the same "big" research questions(s).

√  Some research projects are ongoing and may be interviewing members who have applied to that study over a period of several weeks or months.

√  A given study may be delayed for one or more reasons.

√  Some studies receive more inquiries from qualified individuals than needed for a particular study. The sooner you respond to a new study announcement the more likely it is you will be chosen.

√  You may not be eligible for one or more of the studies that you applied to.

Neurological disorders are illnesses related to the body's nervous system. Structural, biochemical, or electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord, or the nerves leading to or from them can result in symptoms such as paralysis, muscle weakness, poor coordination, loss of sensation, seizures, confusion, pain and altered levels of consciousness. Examples of common neurological disorders include Alzheimer's disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic pain, and migraines.

Psychological or psychiatric disorders are conditions related to cognitive or mental function. They range from behavioral disorders such as ADHD to mood problems such as bipolar disorder. These refer to anyone who has been diagnosed with such a disorder by either a physician or psychiatrist.

If you aren't sure about your own specific situation, when a researcher contacts you to participate in a study that has a disorder criteria, just let them know about your special circumstances. How strictly a requirement needs to be adhered to depends on the study.

Psychoactive drugs are those that affect brain function; this includes recreational drugs as well medications for depression, epilepsy, anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, schizophrenia, OCD, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, narcolepsy, pain, etc.

Typically, exceptions are made for moderate caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, which are also psychoactive drugs. If you aren't sure whether you qualify for a study with these requirements, when a researcher contacts you to participate, just ask.

fMRI - functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging - scans require that you lie still for about one to one-and-a-half hours inside a narrow cylinder in a strong magnetic field. The levels of energy used to make fMRI measurements are far less than are used in a single X-ray. Note: You may be bothered by loud noises, peripheral stimulation, or claustrophobia while in the scanner.

This method is a brain imaging technique that measures the blood-flow to different parts of the brain. It allows researchers to study which parts of the brain are more active (and therefore require more blood) during different psychological and behavioural tasks. The technique has been used world-wide for 15 years and is safe, provided that certain guidelines are followed and study participants are adequately prepared.

TMS - Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - involves the use of a small magnet, typically hand-held by the researcher, placed on your scalp. In some cases, you may feel a light tapping sensation on the surface of your skull. Note: For some people, TMS may induce a headache, neck stiffness, or pain. In extremely rare cases, it may cause convulsions.

This method uses very short pulses of magnetic energy to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. Researchers have safely used TMS since 1985 to help understand the function of different parts of the brain.

EEG - ElectroencEphaloGraphy - requires that you wear a cap, very similar to swimming cap, wired to sensors. Small amounts of water soluble gel will be applied to your scalp which can easily be washed out. Many labs have shampooing facilities that you can use after the study is complete.

This method allows researchers to record electrical activity along the scalp produced by many thousands of individual brain cells.

MEG - MagnetoEncephaloGraphy - scans allow participants to be in a natural seated position while in a silent environment. MEG is noninvasive and non-hazardous.

This method is a brain imaging technique that measures the weak magnetic fields emitted by nerve cells in the brain (neurons). An cylinder-shaped sensors monitor the magnetic field pattern near a study participant's scalp to determine the position and strength of activity in various regions of the brain.

Behavioral Studies - typically require that you perform tasks on a computer or while being observed by a researcher.

Focus Group - a small group of people selected to represent a wider population. As a group member you will participate in an open discussion about your opinions or emotional responses to a particular topic.

Metal plates and pins should be safe if they were placed more than 6 months ago and are located in your arms or legs. You can NOT participate in fMRI studies if you have a Harrington rod in your spine; aneurism clips, metal plates or any sort of implants in your brain, spine, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys.

However, fMRI is only one of the several techniques that are used. For most other studies, having metal pins and/or screws in your body will not necessarily exclude you from participating.

In most cases yes, it is safe for you to participate in an fMRI study. Most standard dental fillings are not affected by the magnetic field generated by the fMRI magnet. However, if you have any concerns be sure to discuss them with the researcher before agreeing to participate in an fMRI study.

Your member ID is used to match your profile, safety, and other pre-screening information with the studies you apply to participate in. It doesn't change and is meant to be relatively easy for you to remember.

Your password is used to access your member account where you can change your profile, safety, and other pre-screening information as well as to view your study application history. To keep your account secure, your password is changed frequently and is composed of a mix of characters, numbers, and symbols.

Your privacy is very important to us. The ABI RSVP system uses several methods to ensure the best security possible to protect your privacy while also allowing researchers access to the information they need to determine whether you are eligible to participate in their study. Here some of the several ways we strive to keep your personal information safe on the RSVP system:

√  When you submit information using our forms, your data is protected with a 128 bit encryption Secure Socket Layer (SSL) before it is sent from your computer to the RSVP system over the Internet. This prevents unauthorized people from viewing or capturing your information while it travels through the web.

√  We only collect and save the minimum amount of data necessary for the majority of studies listing with the RSVP. If a researcher needs additional information about you, links are provided to prescreening surveys that are separate from the RSVP system.

√  Your data is stored in secure server locations and has strict access permission requirements.

√  Your contact information (email) is encrypted and kept separate from your profile information.

√  Because the safety prescreening survey for fMRI, TMS, MEG, and EEG study methods contains questions about your health, we ONLY record whether or not you appear to be eligible to participate in studies that use one or more of these three research methods. We do not record your responses to the individual questions. If you are invited to participate in a study using one or more of these methods, the responsible researcher will ask you to confirm your answers in detail.

√  Your profile information is password protected. To ensure that your password isn't compromised, our system generates a strong password (e.g. a password that is difficult to decode or guess by humans or computer programs) for you. This temporary password is stored using one-way encryption and must be renewed on a frequent basis.

√  Access to your data is only given to the researchers whose studies YOU chose to apply to participate in.

Read the ABI Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy for more information about our data collection, storage, and privacy policies.

Visit our volunteer listings page [HERE]