Home-based aerobic exercise plus online brain training to improve thinking after a first schizophrenia episode
Official title: Improving Cognition Through Telehealth Aerobic Exercise and Cognitive Training After a First Schizophrenia Episode
Funded at University of California Los Angeles · NIH-11306042 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program combines guided aerobic exercise with web-based cognitive training delivered by telehealth to help thinking and daily functioning for people after a first schizophrenia episode.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,273,365 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH130848-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11306042 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people who have experienced a first episode of schizophrenia, are medically stable, and can take part in remote exercise and online training sessions.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with severe physical limitations that prevent aerobic exercise, uncontrolled psychiatric symptoms, or without reliable internet access may not benefit or be eligible.
What this research studies
You would do guided aerobic workouts and computer-based brain-training sessions from home using videoconferencing. The plan pairs exercise that raises brain growth factors with targeted exercises that retrain attention, memory, and other thinking skills. Researchers will measure changes in cognition, work/school functioning, and blood markers like BDNF to track biological effects. The trial compares the combined approach to cognitive training without added aerobic exercise to confirm earlier promising findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could improve thinking, memory, and work or school functioning after a first schizophrenia episode and be widely accessible via telehealth.
How similar studies have gone: Smaller studies show benefits from exercise or cognitive training alone and early combined trials were promising, but large confirmatory evidence is still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nuechterlein, Keith H — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Nuechterlein, Keith H
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Using telehealth to improve thinking skills through exercise and cognitive training for people with schizophrenia.
This study is looking at a new way to help people who have had their first episode of schizophrenia by using online exercise and brain training to boost their thinking skills and overall well-being.
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This project studies how people at clinical high risk for schizophrenia interpret social cues from movies and spoken stories, and how their brain activity relates to these abilities.
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This study is looking at how people who are at risk of developing schizophrenia understand social situations, like reading facial expressions or following conversations, by watching movie clips and listening to stories, to find ways to help them improve their social skills.
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Understanding social interaction challenges in youth with autism and schizophrenia
This study is looking at how the brains of young people with autism and schizophrenia work when it comes to social interactions, hoping to find ways to help them improve their social skills and experiences.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.