DIVISION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND LANGUAGE SCIENCES Scientific Study: Levodopa and Speech Perception (£60) Are you intersted in taking part in scientific research?

We are looking for participants for our 2-sessions speech perception study. Please contact Kim Coulson if you are interested or would like to know more: k.coulson@ucl.ac.uk 1.

Who can take part? Anyone who is a native speaker of British English, 30 years of age or older, with no history of neurological conditions, hearing impairment or drug abuse, and no current pregnancy. If you want to take part, we will do a short screening over the phone.

2. Is there any compensation for my time? You will receive a total of £60 compensation for your time and travel expenses. After the first session you will receive £40 and the remaining £20 after the second session. 6 months after the first session, we would also like to invite you to a third session and you will also be paid for that if you decide to take part.

3. What is it about and how long does it take? This study aims to understand how levodopa modulates speech perception. We hope that results from this study could improve speech perception in deaf people that have a cochlear implant. You will be invited to our lab, and will take part in a speech perception test after either taking levodopa or a placebo.

What is levodopa? Levodopa is a drug which alters the natural levels of dopamine in the brain. It is widely used, mainly for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The average daily dose in adults is 3-6 g (3,000-6,000mg). You will receive a much smaller, single dose of 100 mg in order to avoid the occurrence of side effects. The study takes part in 2 sessions: the first one last 2.5hr and the second one lasts 2hr. In each session you will either take levodopa or a placebo. You will not know which one you were taking during the duration of the study. You will take levodopa at most ONLY in one of the sessions.

We will also invite you to take part in a short third session after 6months that does not involve a drug or placebo.

The study will be conducted at the Institute of Neurology, UCL, in 33 Queen Square.

WINTER CONCERT: A DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES

Our winter concert of late eighteenth century music will take place on Saturday 29 November at 3 pm in All Saints Parish Church, Kingston KT1 1JP.

The programme will include Haydn’s last symphony, No 104, ‘The London’, composed in 1795 while he was living in London, This explains the name – although in fact altogether he wrote eleven other ‘London’ symphonies.

We will be joined again by the Harmonie Choir for a performance of Part One of Handel’s Messiah, in Mozart’s arrangement. Handel’s original orchestration was for strings and continuo with occasional trumpets and drums. Mozart brought it up to date, to suit late eighteenth century taste, adding woodwind and more brass and timpani.

A survey on the everyday used in connection with mental health is part of a 3 year research project at Swansea University .  We are approachingU3A members to see if they can help by completing a 20 minute survey online by visiting

http://www.JustSpeakYourMind.co.uk

The IAM has over 200 volunteer groups around the country and is offering free half hour introductory driving assessments which could be arranged for a U3. In addition speakers can also be provided on road safety and driving topics.  To make contact with your nearest IAM Group visit www.iam.org.uk/groupdirectory and enter your postcode.  Would anybody be interested?     If  so email us at  kingstonu3a@gmail.com

The 100th Anniversary of the start of the Great War in 1914 has just been commemorated and over  the next 4 years various aspects of the War will be examined and written about.  Hillcroft College in Oakhill, Surbiton was founded in 1920 to provide an education for working class women who had been involved in war work.

This Shared Learning Project will research the involvement of Surbiton citizens in the Great War as soldiers, auxiliary workers and as conscientious objectors. It will explore the role of women in war work and the nature of that employment. The impact of the War on the Surbiton Area itself will be investigated.

In addition, the project will be studying the early history of Hillcroft College and some of its early students.

We ask volunteers to:

• Be available to attend all meetings at Hillcroft College between 11am and 1pm on the following Thursdays: 8, 22 January, 5, 19 February,  5, 19 March with a presentation on 26 March 2015.
• Visit local history archives as required in Greater London and Surrey.
• Work on projects between meetings.
• Be computer literate, familiar with Microsoft Office, able to use the internet and email.

What’s in it for you?

• To work as part of a team.
• To make a contribution to the history of Surbiton in the Great War and the history of Hillcroft College. Material will be incorporated into the Oakhill Community Project website, used in talks and kept in the archives for future researchers. There is also the possibility of setting up a historic walk.

Why we want you:

We need volunteers to produce original research that contributes to our knowledge of the social history of Surbiton during the Great War and the early history of Hillcroft College.

Location for meetings:

Hillcroft College, South Bank, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 6DF.

Rail:     Surbiton station then a 5 minute walk.
Buses:  71, 281, K2, K3 to Surbiton Station (South Bank is over the footbridge).
406, 418 to Surbiton Health Centre, Ewell Road (South Bank is opposite the fire station).

Applications:

For further information and an application form contact Moira Shearer:
mshearer@blueyonder.co.uk        020 8390 6356

Closing date for applications: 30th October 2014.