Research team contacts

Principal Researcher:

Dr Naohide Yamamoto, School of Psychology & Counselling, QUT

What is the purpose of this research?

This project is to investigate how the brain works while we navigate by foot. It is very important for us to be able to walk to where we want to go, but it is not well understood how the brain allows us to do this. This is because usual methods of measuring the activity of the brain can be used only when people are not moving. As a result, research on navigation has largely relied on simulated navigation—that is, people are not physically moving, but they navigate in an artificial environment on a computer. This approach has produced rich knowledge about the brain’s navigation mechanisms, but we still do not know what happens in the brain while people walk to navigate in real environments. Therefore, in this project, we try a new method of measuring the activity of the brain while people are actually walking.

Are you looking for people like me?

To participate in this research, you must be:

  • between 18–39 years old
  • right-handed
  • able to walk without assistance
  • able to do 6-hour fasting
  • with a body mass index (BMI) lower than 30
  • with no history of diabetes and other abnormality of glucose metabolism
  • with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders
  • with no history of PET or CT scans during the past 5 years.

There are other criteria for ensuring that you can safely undergo an MRI scan. For details, please contact the research team.

What will you ask me to do?

You will be asked to participate in two test sessions of 2–3 hours each on the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) campus (Herston QLD). Please do not participate in the project if you know in advance that you can do only one test session.

You will be asked to come to each session after 6 hours of fasting. In these sessions, you will be asked to walk for 15 minutes in a hospital building, and then lie on a table inside a neuroimaging scanner for about 30 minutes. This scanner will scan your head to create pictures of your brain.

Are there any risks for me in taking part?

In each test session, a radioactive drug called FDG will be injected in your bloodstream using a needle. There is a slight risk of pain, bleeding, discomfort, and/or bruising at an injection site. There is a rare chance of infection at the injection site and also a rare chance of fainting due to the injection.

FDG is a TGA-approved drug that is commonly used in PET imaging, and it rarely causes side effects. To our knowledge, out of numerous PET scans using FDG, there are only a few cases in which possible adverse reactions to FDG occurred. In these cases, people experienced mild skin rash and itching that lasted longer than a day, and moderate allergic reaction including itching, reddening of the skin, abdominal pain, lower blood pressure, chills, and tremor that lasted for a few hours.

As a result of FDG injection, you will be exposed to a very small amount of radiation.  As part of everyday living, everyone is exposed to naturally occurring background radiation and receives a dose of about 2 millisieverts (mSv) each year.  The effective dose from this research project is about 10 mSv. The dose from this research project is comparable to that received from many diagnostic medical X-ray and nuclear medicine procedures.  At this dose level, no harmful effects of radiation have been demonstrated, as any effect is too small to measure.

There are a few other risks (e.g., some people may experience symptoms of claustrophobia from lying in a confined space), which will be fully explained when you contact the research team.

Are there any benefits for me in taking part?

There will be no clear benefit to you from your participation in this research. However, by agreeing to participate, you are making a generous contribution to research that may benefit the Australian society by creating new knowledge about how the human brain functions while we physically navigate.

Will I be compensated for my time?

You will receive a $25 voucher per hour of a session, plus a $45 voucher per session for covering travel and meal expenses. In total, you are expected to receive vouchers worth $190–240. The vouchers will be given to you after completion of the second session. If you should for any reason withdraw after the first session, you will receive them after the first session.

I am interested - what should I do next?

Please contact the principal researcher, Dr Naohide Yamamoto, at naohide.yamamoto@qut.edu.au.

QUT Ethics Number: 1800000481