Understanding how brain and body interact during decision-making under physical effort

A naturalistic multimodal platform for capturing brain-body interactions in people during physical effort-based decision making

NIH-funded research Georgia Institute of Technology · NIH-11046239

This study is looking at how your brain affects the choices you make when it comes to physical activities, especially if you have a mental health condition like depression or Parkinson's disease, and it will use a virtual reality setup to track your brain and body while you move.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionGeorgia Institute of Technology NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Atlanta, United States)
Project IDNIH-11046239 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

This research investigates how brain activity influences decision-making when physical effort is involved, particularly in individuals with psychiatric disorders. It aims to develop a new system called HORMES that captures real-time data on brain and body interactions during immersive tasks that require physical movement. By using a virtual environment, the study will measure various aspects of behavior and neural activity simultaneously, providing a comprehensive view of how these factors affect decision-making. This approach seeks to improve our understanding of motivational deficits in conditions like depression and Parkinson's disease.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates for this research include individuals experiencing motivational deficits due to conditions such as major depression or Parkinson's disease.

Not a fit: Patients without motivational deficits or those not experiencing psychiatric disorders may not benefit from this research.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to better treatments for psychiatric disorders by enhancing our understanding of how physical effort impacts decision-making.

How similar studies have performed: While the approach of using immersive environments for studying brain-body interactions is innovative, similar methodologies have shown promise in other areas of neuroscience.

Where this research is happening

Atlanta, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-09 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.