Each study is a little different, but in general, we want to find out three kinds of information.
We sometimes want to know about how yourchild thinks and feels, so we might ask your child to answer some questions about their thoughts, feelings, your family and friends, and how their body is changing as they grow up. Some studies also include parent questionnaires about the makeup of the family.
We sometimes want to know how children and adolescents respond to different kinds of information, like pictures of different people or scenes. They would look at these kinds of pictures on a computer screen, and press buttons to make decisions about them.
We sometimes take measurements of the structure and function of the brain. The brain can be noninvasively imaged with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).