Skip to main content
Start of main content.

Volunteers wanted for ground breaking scientific research

As part of his PhD in Health Sciences, Brookes Folmli is carrying out a study to establish whether repeated sessions of non-invasive nervous system stimulation can modify sensory perception in a healthy population.

He is looking for 30 volunteers for the study and they can be either male or female, aged between 18 and 65, and in good health.

The testing involves a total time commitment of no more than six hours spread over five consecutive days and each participant will be compensated for their time in the form of $50.

Brookes Folmli said volunteers would also have the satisfaction of knowing that they have contributed to a better understanding of the human nervous system, which could help develop better treatments for nervous system disorders such as chronic pain and stroke.

"This experiment is significant because the human nervous system plays an important part in every day living," he said.

"It enables us to engage with and respond to our environment in an appropriate manner, and it can adapt very quickly to circumstances.

"My research is looking at techniques that aim to provide further insight into this adaptive capability of the nervous system.

The research aims to alter sensory sensation by applying mild electrical stimulation to the participant’s scalp (thus indirectly stimulating the brain) and measuring sensation to tolerable pain and temperature stimuli delivered to the skin surface of the participant’s hand.

"The sensory perception testing is done before and after the mild electrical stimulation on the scalp on day one and again after stimulation on day five," said Brookes.

"In this way we can test to see if there is any measurable improvement in a person's ability to perceive different types of stimuli.”

"Potentially the next stage would be doing this in a population suffering from chronic pain.”

To learn more about the study or participate, contact Brookes Folmli on [email protected]

 

 

More from Bond

  • Unseen chains: Why Gold Coast businesses need to know about modern slavery

    Modern slavery has surged by 10 million in the past decade, now ensnaring 50 million people globally. How is it relevant to life on the Gold Coast?

    Read article
  • Envy an industry that's cashing in

    Do you know envy is the single most powerful trigger for making purchases?

    Read article
  • Injury blow to skipper ahead of QFA finals

    AFL preview: Matthew Smith ruled out with a hand injury and some big names rested in the QAFLW.

    Read article
  • Bond at the Olympics: Andrew Utting

    We have been celebrating Bond's proud Olympic history in the lead-up to the Paris games. In the final edition we profile 2004 Olympian Andrew Utting.

    Read article
  • Makeshift Bull Sharks side out to tame Tigers.

    Rugby preview: Wallaroo Eva Karpani headlines a list of eight big names who will miss the match against Easts.

    Read article
Previous Next