Laboratory Facilities
Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research
The CNALab is affiliated with the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research (PBCAR) at McMaster University. Located within the West 5th Campus of St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, the PBCAR has over 2000 square feet of research space, including private assessment rooms, a bar lab, kitchenette, student offices, RA workstations, and a conference room for lab meetings. The west 5th campus of SJHH is a $1 billion state-of-the-art psychiatric hospital and research facility that opened in 2014. The PBCAR has an array of sophisticated equipment to support our projects, including tablets and computers for conducting assessments, breathalyzers, smokerlyzers, physiological monitors, neuropsychological tests, and software programs for computerized assessments. Simulated Bar Laboratory The PBCAR is home to a simulated bar laboratory. CNALab researchers use the bar lab for conducting alcohol cue exposures, self-administration protocols, and other studies examining drinking behaviors in a naturalistic environment. The bar lab is equipped with a large assortment of alcohol bottles (beer, liquor, wine), glassware, drink mixing accessories, alcohol-themed artwork, and soft lighting. The bar lab also has a closed-circuit video system for monitoring participant behavior during testing sessions. Adjacent to the bar lab is a neutral cues room, which is used for neutral beverage cue exposures (e.g., water cues). These two rooms are identical in size and lighting, but differ in terms of the theme of the decor (alcohol stimuli in the bar lab, neutral stimuli in the neutral cues room). By testing participants in both rooms, we are able to examine the effects of alcohol-related environmental cues relative to neutral cues. Neuromodulatory Technology The CNALab is also excited to take advantage of the PBCAR's new non-invasive brain stimulation technology. The lab will be using a type of neuromodulatory equipment called Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (or tDCS) in our upcoming projects. TDCS uses a battery-operated device to deliver low-intensity electrical currents to the scalp in order to enhance neural processing in cortical brain regions. We plan to use this technology to examine the effects of neuromodulation of prefrontal cortex on craving and self-control in individuals with addictive disorders. Visit our Neuromodulation Working Group Website Neuroimaging Facilities Brain imaging studies in the CNALab are conducted at the Imaging Research Centre (IRC) at SJHH, which is home to a research-dedicated 3-Tesla MRI scanner and a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. The IRC has state-of-the-art equipment for conducting functional MRI studies, including a MRI-compatible stimulus presentation system with E-Prime and Presentation software, response boxes, and an audio-visual patient monitoring system. The CNALab also has several iMac workstations and required software (e.g., AFNI, SPM, FreeSurfer) for analysis of fMRI and structural MRI data. Eye Movement Recording Through our collaborators at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and the University of Guelph, the CNALab also has access to a state-of-the-art EyeLink 1000 Plus Infrared Eye Movement Recording system. We can use this equipment to examine oculomotor inhibitory control and visual working memory tasks. We can also examine free viewing of various pictorial and video stimuli that relate to addiction (e.g., alcohol advertisements or drug cues). Much of this work is being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kaitlyn McLachlan of the University of Guelph |
Photos of CNALab Facilities
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Questions or Comments?
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