Pain in the Brain Study

The purpose of this study is to understand why some people engage in harming themselves on purpose, such as cutting themselves, and others do not.

We are particularly interested in whether some brain regions might be involved in both emotional pain and physical pain, and if this overlap in physical and emotion related pain in the brain may explain why some people engage in self-harm (or hurt themselves on purpose).

We hope that the information we learn from this study can help us understand why some people harm themselves on purpose and help develop better interventions for these behaviors.

You may be eligible for this study if:

You are 18-24 years old.
You have recently had suicidal thoughts and injured yourself on purpose (such as cutting themselves).
You have recently had suicidal thoughts only and never injured yourself on purpose.
You have never hurt yourself on purpose, never had suicidal thoughts, and have no history of psychiatric disorders.

Interested? Click Below!

Participants will:

Be asked to complete interviews about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Complete an fMRI scan while listening to positive and negative statements a friend has said about them.
Sometimes experience brief painful sensations on their finger during the scan.
Complete 4 brief monthly phone check-ins.

Participants will be compensated up to $170 for their time.