(3) What will I need to do if I take part?

Can I definitely take part?

Not everyone will be able to take part in this study. Only individuals that meet the study entry requirements and are willing to participate may take part. Your GP will be notified that you are taking part in the study.

If you decide you would like to take part, you can get in contact with us and we will send you an information sheet and arrange a telephone screening. At this telephone screening, you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have regarding the study. You will be asked to sign a consent form, either electronically or handwritten, should you wish to continue.

What will happen to me during the study?

You will be asked to attend three study appointments over a 12-month period: baseline (visit 1) and follow-up at 6 months (visit 2) and follow-up at 12 months (visit 3/final visit). Currently, we are doing all assessments online and there is no need to come into the centre unless you decide to do the optional brain scan (MRI). These assessments will take one and a half to two hours to complete.

The assessments for the current study will include medical history, physical tests, neuropsychological assessment, clinical questionnaires and behavioural testing. We will give you the option to be video recorded in order to help us standardised the marking and analysis of these tests. Participants can also have an optional brain scan to measure brain responses correlating with measures of anxiety in different regions of the brain.

The computer-based tasks will be piloted (tested) at the beginning of the study and refined as the study progresses. Pilot studies are small-scale, preliminary studies which aim to investigate whether all components of a study will be feasible. They may be used to improve upon various aspects of the study design. We will be looking at the ease of administering the different tasks, and any feedback participants might have about them across both sites (UCL and KCL).The tests will include tasks such as naming colours, calculation or selecting cards to gain reward points.

At each study visit, you will be asked to complete several study assessments including questionnaires. These questionnaires will contain questions asking about your anxiety symptoms, depression, and your movement symptoms. There will also be general questions asking about your quality of life. Your doctor will complete some scales also asking about your movement skills and your mental capabilities. The various assessments and questionnaires performed at each study visit are shown in the Summary of Assessments at the end of this patient information sheet.

The study visits can either be online or at the clinical centre where you were recruited to the study. The MRI scans will be carried out either at Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square (or if you are being seen at KCH, then your scan will be at the Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences). The scans will be carried out by a radiographer and one of the researchers. Heart rate and skin-conductance measurements will be carried out during your MRI appointment.