TROY, N.Y. — The Lighting Research Center (LRC) is recruiting participants over the age of 18 for a new study that will take place over the course of three weeks, one session each week.
The study will be conducted from March 16 to April 3 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday mornings. Participants may choose the day of the week they wish to attend. Participants need to attend all three scheduled sessions, unless they decide to withdraw from the experiment. Each session will run for 2 hours starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 11 a.m.
The study will investigate the cognitive effects of light by measuring brain activities under different light exposures using electroencephalogram (EEG) and through various performance tests done on a computer. EEG is a non-invasive, safe procedure to record brain activities. Three EEG measurements will be collected during the first hour. Each collection will last for three minutes; during this time each participant will place their chin on a chinrest, fixate on a mark, and hold still. At the end of each EEG collection, 10-15 minutes of computer-based performance testing will be started.
In order to be eligible to participate in the experiment, participants need to have regular bedtimes no later than 11:00 p.m. and wake up no later than 8:00 a.m. This regular schedule must be kept throughout the study and will be tracked by each participant by filling out a sleep log during the 3 weeks of the study.
Exclusions: Persons cannot participate in the experiment if they 1) have any major health problems including a history of epilepsy or migraines, 2) are colorblind, or 3) will be traveling one or more time zones the month before or during the weeks of the experiment.
One week prior to the start of the experiment, participants will come to the LRC for a one-hour training session during regular business hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
Participants will be paid $50 for each session — a total of $150 for completing all three weeks of the study. Payment will be processed by Rensselaer after each session. If a participant is not a U.S. citizen, taxes will be withheld from payment. Persons interested in participating in the study should contact Sagan Leggett at legges2@rpi.edu or (518) 276-7100 for more information. Thank you!
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