The Study

Last Thursday, Jacob and I spent the day at the University of Rochester.  No, I wasn't at work.  We were over on the medical campus, just across the way from where Jacob goes to summer camp.  Surprisingly, our visit to the Center for Brain Imaging had absolutely nothing to do with the various behavioral challenges we've spent the last 4+ years tackling.  Instead, we were there voluntarily so Jacob could participate in the ABCD Study.  It stands for Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development, and it's a nationwide 10-year study of kids around Jacob's age.  I think they're targeting around 12,000 kids, and will probably have several hundred at the Rochester site.  The ultimate goal is to gather a ton of data to see how brains change through adolescence, and to better understand how environmental factors contribute to changes.  It seems like a ridiculous amount of data to sort through, but it's still pretty cool.  It could contribute to interventions in the future that can ensure better outcomes for kids in certain challenging circumstances.

I found out about it a while back through work, and mentioned it to Jacob to see if he'd be interested.  While the pursuit of better science is a nice motivator, in theory, clearly the real driver to participate is the monetary compensation!  I mean, when you're nine and you're offered up a significant chunk of money, why not?  It involved a full day, from 9 to 5, and I'd say he definitely earned his pay, but he said he'd be fine doing it again, so it couldn't have been that bad!

We arrived at 9am, and once another participant and her mom arrived, we got a quick briefing in the conference room before we all split off.  The kids went off to do their stuff, and the moms were ushered off to separate spaces to do our part.  I ended up spending a couple hours answering survey questions about a little of everything, from medical history, behavioral history, current living situation, moods, etc.  Meanwhile, Jacob was answering similar questions and playing games that were part of the study tasks or practice for things he'd be doing later.  Many tasks had opportunities to earn "prizes", in the form of plastic jewels and coins that would convert to money later.  There was a set amount he was supposed to receive, but it was possible to earn more through these tasks.  I think the main purpose is just to keep the kids motivated through a very long day.

We met back up for lunch, and they ordered in for us.  Interestingly, the other study subject also had Celiac, which was an odd coincidence!  Jacob and I tried some Chinese, though he ended up mostly just enjoying his white rice.  After lunch, my part was done.  He went back down for the most important part of his day, the brain scan in the MRI.  While in there, he was able to watch a movie and play games, which all plays into the study in some way.  In the meantime, I had visions of blogging, surfing the internet, and just relaxing, but instead it turned into a full afternoon of work.  My boss had texted me in the morning to let me know about an additional task that needed to be done the following day when I was back at work, and in addition to laying the groundwork for that, I ended up spending hours going through emails and preparing for the next day.  It was the last crush for the end of the year on top of a crazy day the day before when I completed data for six separate emails.  I guess the good news was that it made it more manageable the next day when I was fully expecting to get out early (as we always do before a holiday), but due to certain circumstances we didn't, and but I still really needed to leave a bit early to get to my parents' house for the visit with my brother and his kids.  I felt no guilt ducking out (even though we were told on the down-low it was OK) after working a full half day on my vacation day!

Just before 5pm, Jacob came back up from the MRI and we got our payments (yes, I get one too) in the form of a Visa gift card-type setup.  I still need to figure out the best way to cash them out (as Jacob wants to spend some of his and I'd rather save our portion than spend it).  Jacob did really well and his final payment was above average thanks to what he earned.  I won't tell you the exact amount, but it's in the low three-figures, which is a pretty good haul for a kid.  He got a t-shirt and one other interesting souvenir:

A picture of his brain!

We already had pictures of his intestines, and now we have one of his brain!  It's crazy to see, isn't it?  And yes, they will have doctors looking at these images, just in case.  The girl who was there has a brother with a brain cyst, so her mom was very interested in that fact. 

All in all, it was a pretty interesting day and we'll be doing some form of this for years to come.  Phone interviews six months after the annual check-in, and then each annual check-in varies.  No brain scan next year, but it'll be back the year after.  My compensation goes down over the 10 years, and Jacob's goes up, which he's very excited about!  Not a bad day's work, regardless!