BRAIN HEALTH LAB
Our Research
Welcome to our Research page! Here, you’ll find an overview of all our ongoing research projects. We are excited to share the innovative work we're doing and invite you to explore the various opportunities. If you're interested in learning more or would like to participate, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (BECT)
Initiated in 2006, the Baltimore Experience Corps is a volunteer service program for persons 55 years and older, in which they actively participate as agents of learning within Baltimore City public school classrooms, aiding and assisting students in grades K-3.
The Baltimore Experience Corps Trial, a collaboration between Experience Corps, Johns Hopkins, and the Greater Homewood Community Corporation, is a research study aimed at determining if new model of senior service improve the educational outcomes of children in elementary schools in Baltimore, as well as the health and functional status of older adults.
National Institute on Aging (R01AG066153, PI: Carlson)
A New Chapter:
Advancing BECT with Continued Investigation
Long-term Effects of a Community-based Volunteer Trial on Lifestyle Activity and Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
A follow-up NIA-funded study (PI: Carlson) is currently underway to examine the long-term impact of the Baltimore City Experience Corps program on key outcomes related to functional independence, and risk for Alzheimer’s disease, frailty, and mortality as these individuals enter their 80th and 90th decades of life. Our goal is to determine whether increased social, physical and cognitive engagement in Experience Corps, examined in the BECT among participants enrolled from 2006-2009, led to long-term lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease, reductions in healthcare expenditures, maintained functional and financial independence, improved quality of life, less disability, and lower mortality up to approximately 10-12 years later. To achieve these goals, we will leverage a wide range of linked data, including Medicare and Medicaid Claims, National Death Index (NDI), financial records, and a low-cost 10-12-year follow-up telephone interview to assess cognition, function, health, lifestyle and social connectivity. This study will allow us to examine the long-term impact of a social volunteer program on key outcomes related to risk for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia risk.
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How long is the study?The study lasts 3 months.
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Does this require going to campus?Yes. If you are a part of the intervention it requires you to come to campus 2 times per week (a total of 24 sessions), each session lasts an hour and a half. If you are in the control group it requires you to come to campus 1 time per week (a total of 12 sessions), each session lasts an hour and a half and one 30 minute phone call per week.
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What is involved in each session?We will exercise body and brain in an immersive video game experience or work on your personalized healthy lifestyle goals.
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What is required to be a part of this study?Phone screening- this is to see if you qualify to be a part of the study. Baseline evaluation- in person evaluations. MRI- done typically the same day as the baseline evaluations. Study sessions (12 or 24 sessions depending upon what group you are randomly assorted to). Follow Up evaluations- in person evaluations. Follow Up MRI- done typically the same day as the follow up evaluations. Exit Interview- done via phone.
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What are the benefits of being a part of the study?Being a part of the advancement of brain health science! A $70 gift certificate at the completion of the baseline and follow up evaluations. A screenshot of your baseline MRI if requested.
OCEANS-TBI Study (Optimizing Cognitive, Environmental, and Neuromotor Stimulation in Traumatic Brain Injury)
Patients with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at elevated risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Improving treatments for TBI in older adults may decrease this risk. Interventions such as physical exercise and cognitive enrichment have been shown to be effective treatments for TBI. The OCEANS-TBI Study (Optimizing Cognitive, Environmental, and Neuromotor Stimulation in Traumatic Brain Injury) is seeking to determine the effectiveness of an immersive computer game (Bandit) that uses both physical and cognitive exercises. We think that complex motor activities involved in the Bandit video game may improve cognitive health in adults with a history of TBI.
This research is being done to: 1) determine the effect of the complex cognitive-motor exergame, Bandit the Dolphin, on cognition, brain biomarkers, lifestyle, and independent activities of daily living in patients with past TBI compared to a similar group receiving a control intervention, and 2) examine mechanistic brain biomarkers of ADRD before and after 3 months of using the Bandit video game.
Department of Defense (W81XWH1910730)
Piloting The Stimulation with Intricate Movements (SWIM) Computer Game to Promote Cognitive and Functional Health in Community-Dwelling Adults
The aim of the Stimulation With Intricate Movements (SWIM) Study is to assess the feasibility and short-term impact of an immersive, interactive computer game, called Bandit the Dolphin, on the cognitive and functional health of aging adults living in the community. It was developed by the Kata Design Studio team at Johns Hopkins for post-stroke rehabilitation. SWIM provides an oceanic environment in which the individual’s arm movements control a simulated dolphin.
WAVES (Validity of Commercial-Grade Accelerometry and GPS Data)
The WAVES (Validity of Commercial-Grade Accelerometry and GPS Data) study aims to understand the differences and similarities in data between commercially available consumer-grade activity trackers and research-grade wearables in younger adults aged 18-40. We would like to see how closely the data from commercial products (e.g., Apple Watch, iPhone) are to the research-grade devices commonly used to study activity (e.g., ActiGraph). This study will compare activity metrics to evaluate how accurate the data are across devices in a two-week data collection period.
Cardiovascular Health Study: Neighborhoods, Cognitive Aging, and Modifiable Risk Factors
The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) is a prospective population-based cohort study of risk factors for CHD and stroke in adults 65 years and older. In June 1990, four Field Centers completed the recruitment of 5201 participants. Between November 1992 and June 1993, an additional 687 African Americans were recruited using similar methods. The Field Centers are located in Forsyth County, NC; Sacramento County, CA; Washington County, MD; and Pittsburgh, PA. The baseline examinations consisted of a home interview and a clinic examination that assessed not only traditional risk factors but also measures of subclinical disease, including carotid ultrasound, echocardiography, electrocardiography, and pulmonary function. Since 1999, participants have been contacted twice a year by telephone to collect limited data, including medication data, and to identify all hospitalizations and potential cardiovascular events. CHS currently plans to follow participants for events that occur through 2006. Participants have also been invited to participate in a clinic or home visit as part of the CHS All Stars Study which begins the seventeenth year of data collection and includes follow-up for events. The six-month contact of this current data collection cycle is also underway.
National Institute on Aging (R01AG055404)
Building on Foundations: Expanding CHS with New Insights
The Cardiovascular Health Study: 31-Year In-Person Follow-Up of Super Agers
The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) is a prospective population-based cohort study of risk factors for CHD and stroke in adults 65 years and older. In June 1990, four Field Centers completed the recruitment of 5201 participants. Between November 1992 and June 1993, an additional 687 African Americans were recruited using similar methods. The Field Centers are located in Forsyth County, NC; Sacramento County, CA; Washington County, MD; and Pittsburgh, PA. The baseline examinations consisted of a home interview and a clinic examination that assessed not only traditional risk factors but also measures of subclinical disease, including carotid ultrasound, echocardiography, electrocardiography, and pulmonary function. Since 1999, participants have been contacted twice a year by telephone to collect limited data, including medication data, and to identify all hospitalizations and potential cardiovascular events. Participants were invited to participate in a clinic or home visit as part of the CHS 90+ Study (PI: Carlson) which began in the 31st year of data collection and includes follow-up for events and functional outcomes for individuals with exceptional aging. Finally, our team has recently completed an NIA-funded study in CHS that identified novel geospatial contributors to dementia risk, such as toxicity-weighted air pollution measures (i.e., Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators) and the number of accessible destinations (e.g., physical activity facilities).
