Volunteers needed for memory research study

27th May 2015

Volunteers are needed to take part in a study on the effects of Wild Green Oat Extract (GOE) on memory and attention.

Researchers from Northumbria’s Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre are looking for healthy male and female participants aged 40-65 years.

The study involves an afternoon training session and two testing days on campus at Northumbria. Volunteers will be compensated £80 for their time.

This research follows a previous study which compared the effects of a morning dose of 800mg GOE, 1600 mg GOE or a placebo on a range of computerised cognitive tasks.

Dr Philippa Jackson, Research Fellow at Northumbria, explained: “The results of our first study showed some promising effects of Wild Green Oat Extract. We saw that participants who consumed 800 mg GOE in the morning were faster overall than placebo on the computerised cognitive tasks, and this was across the whole day.

"We also saw that participants who took 800 mg GOE performed better on a number of different cognitive tasks throughout the day. However, these effects were not found for the 1600 mg dose.

“We now hope to follow up these findings in a new study that will look at the effects of 800 mg on more complex cognitive tasks, as well as confirming the results of the previous study."

The team are looking for people who are aged 40-65 years, are non-smokers, who do not regularly consume dietary supplements and who are free from chronic health conditions.

The study protocol has been passed by the Northumbria University Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Ethics Committee.

For further details or to express your interest, please contact Joanne Forster, Research Assistant in Psychology at Northumbria, on 0191 243 7252 or email jo.forster@northumbria.ac.uk. You can find out more information about the study online http://tinyurl.com/GreenOatStudy.