You Can Participate in Brain Research

There is an opportunity to take a 10-minute online test, part of a research study to understand how memory changes as people age and how genetics are involved in the process.

The goal is to learn more about the connections between memory and aging and to be able to understand brain disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that occur when people age. This is not a test to determine Alzheimer’s disease risk and there is no cost to participate. Researchers in the MindCrowd study plan to recruit a million participants (age 18 or older) in the Phase 1 stage, according to the principal scientist, Matt Huentelman, professor in the neurogenomics division and head of the neurobehavioral research unit at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix.

By creating an online platform to gather data, researchers want to draw information from a large, diverse group of people. From that information, they hope to understand more about the connections between DNA and how the brain works, which will help in developing new medicines and therapies for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders. From the Phase 1 group, researchers will select individuals to participate in Phase 2 of the trial, which will include more web-based testing and a saliva sample for DNA evaluation.

For detailed information on how to participate, visit mindcrowd.org or contact Matt Huentelman at mhuentelman@tgen.org. Sponsors of the MindCrowd study include the University of Arizona, the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry, and the Alzheimer’s Association TrialMatch.