Reward Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Study

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The Bray Neuroimaging Lab at the University of Calgary is currently recruiting adolescents between the ages of 14 – 20 with ASD and those that are typically developing to take part in a study where we aim to learn more about how people with ASD learn about rewards in the environment.  This study has two parts:

Online survey study:

This portion of the study can be taken from home.  There are three surveys:

  • Parents will be asked to take a survey online that asks questions about their children. This should take less than 20 minutes.
  • Both typically developing and ASD adolescents will take 2 online surveys.
    • Both surveys involve looking at and answering questions about a set of pictures and take about 45 minutes in total.
    • As a thank you, we will mail you a $20 gift card for your participation.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study

Some of those that participate in the online survey study will be invited to participate in an fMRI study. For this portion of the study, participants will be shown pictures and make responses in the MRI scanner. This will allow us to examine how the activity of different brain regions may differ during reward processing in individuals with ASD relative to typically developing teens.

Am I eligible to participate?

If you or your child matches either of the following criteria for the study, then you are eligible to participate:

  • A teen between the ages of 14 – 20 with ASD
  • A typically developing teen between the ages of 14 – 20 with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders

If you are not eligible to participate in this study but would like to hear about other research opportunities, please contact us.

Want more information?

For more information about this research study, please visit the study website at: www.asdbrainresearch.ca

For more information about the Bray Neuroimaging Lab and Dr. Signe Bray, check out the lab website at:www.brayneuroimaginglab.ca

Interested in participating?

If you are interested in participating or you have any questions please contact us by email:

or by phone: 403 955 7440