Project SUPER Brain

What is Project SUPER Brain? Project SUPER Brain is a study of roughly 300 children and their families that will start when children are in elementary and middle school and follow them through high school graduation. Participants will come to UNC Chapel Hill once per year to participate in the study.

What are we interested in learning? We are interested in learning about how brain development is related to children’s and adolescents’ social communication and how they get along with their peers. In turn, we are interested in how these factors relate to teens success in school, how they cope with stress, and their health.

What will participants be asked to do? We will ask roughly 300 children and their families (a caregiver) to visit the UNC Chapel Hill Biomedical Research Imaging Center for a yearly research session. During this session, they will complete questionnaires about their thoughts and feelings, about their relationships with peers their age, and about their behaviors. We may ask participants how often they engage in some illegal or private behaviors, such as drug use, sexual behaviors, or behavior that might get them in trouble at school. All information will be confidential (secret) and will never be linked to a person’s name. Participants will also have a brain scan using MRI.

What is MRI? Brain scanning is a safe and easy technology that takes pictures of the brain while your teen plays computer games. It involves lying still in a MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanner. MRI is safe for almost everyone except people who have metal in their bodies or who may be pregnant. For more information on what it’s like to have your brain scanned, see here.

What will participants and their families receive? Participants and their families can earn up to $190 and a $20 prize each year for participating in all the components of the study. Starting in the second year, they will also earn $25 for each year they have participated in the past. Overall, this means that participants and their families can earn up to $900 over five years for participating in the study. For each trip to UNC, families will receive reimbursement for gas and a family meal.

Are you interested in enrolling your child? View the Parent Consent and Child Assent Forms