Monday, 18 January 2016
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Thursday, 10 December 2015
NUI Study to inform future Mental Health Practice
The School of Psychology at NUI Galway is conducting a
research study on people who experience feelings of being disconnected or
detached from themselves and their surroundings. Adults aged 18-25 years old are invited to
participate in the study, with findings hoping to better inform professionals
working within the mental health service.
Recent
research in mental health has identified that it can be common for people to
experience unwanted thoughts and feelings of being more or less whole, or that
the world is less real to them than at other times. This has been found to be a
common phenomenon among the general population, but for some people it may
cause them some distress.
These
experiences can be influenced by stress and fatigue, with most people not
admitting to experiencing feelings of disconnect and detachment, for fear of
being perceived as different or strange. International studies have found that
people are more willing to report these experiences in surveys rather than
disclose it to a doctor.
The study is being carried out by Aoife Ó Laoide, a
Psychologist in Clinical Training at the School of Psychology in NUI Galway,
under the academic supervision of Dr Jonathan Egan, Deputy Director of the
University’s Doctorate Programme in Psychological Science. Ms Ó Laoide is
interested in examining this phenomenon and understanding how psychological
factors, such as childhood experiences, current stress, anxiety, and mood might
interact with these common experiences of feeling disconnected from yourself or
your surroundings.
Miss Ó Laoide
said: “We are seeking people for the study who have ever felt ‘unreal’ or in a
‘dream-like’ state. People who experience a feeling of detachment or
disconnection from themselves and their surroundings. We want to investigate this relatively common
phenomenon that no one wants to admit to, in order to explore how it may impact
on an individual and their overall psychological well-being, with the hope of
informing future clinical practice.”
For those aged
18-25 years old who wish to participate in the study please visit the online
survey link at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/feelingunreal
For further information contact Aoife Ó Laoide at a.olaoide1@nuigalway.
For further information contact Aoife Ó Laoide at a.olaoide1@nuigalway.
Friday, 4 December 2015
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
NUIG Study on effects of music on ageing brain - Participants required
NUI Galway study is seeking participants aged 60-85 years to
join an experimental study on the effects of listening to music
An ongoing ageing research project at NUI Galway is looking for additional participants to take part in the study. This study is part of a larger ongoing project at the University, which commenced in 2013, exploring the functions and effects of listening to music on the ageing brain with both younger and older adults.
The project is
now seeking participants aged 60-85 years to join an experimental study on the
effects of listening to music. Participants will spend two hours in a lab
carrying out a variety of verbal and numerical tasks while listening to music
and having their brain waves measured by electroencephalography (EEG).
Jenny Groarke, a musician and PhD student in the School
of Psychology at NUI Galway, said: “We will examine whether listening to music
improves emotional, social or cognitive functioning, which we hope can be used
to benefit older adults in the future.”
An important
factor in the current research is the role of choice in music listening. Almost
all previous studies on the effects of music have been carried out with
adolescents or young adults, and most researchers have chosen classical music
for participants to listen to. The researchers at NUI Galway have concluded the
first part of this study with 18-30 year-olds and noted some interesting age
differences in music choices.
Participants
are asked to choose music for a couple of different scenarios, while
socialising or working for example. Whatever the situation, it seems Ed Sheeran
is a popular choice, with 25% of the young adults in the study choosing at
least one of his hits. While younger people are tending to listen to their
favourite music regardless of the situation, older people are demonstrating
greater variety and sophistication when choosing music for different contexts.
The study will run until Christmas and those interested
in participating must complete the questionnaire of adaptive music listening
functions, and sign up for the experiment at www.sgiz.mobi/s3/AFML
Alternatively,
participants can request a paper version of the questionnaire by contacting
Jenny Groarke on jenny.groarke@gmail.com and for more information on participating in
the research visit www.adaptivefunctionsofmusic.com
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