Understanding Decision-Making in Schizophrenia
Official title: R21: Promoting Adaptive Decision-Making in Schizophrenia Through Improved Evidence Integration: A Combined Neuroimaging and Experience Sampling Study
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11126717 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how people with schizophrenia make decisions, especially how they gather and use information, to help them make choices that improve their daily lives.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $196,250 |
| NIH project number | 5R21MH135329-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11126717 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals living with schizophrenia who experience difficulties with decision-making and are willing to participate in neuroimaging and experience sampling would be ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not directly participating in the imaging and experience sampling components of this foundational research may not see immediate personal benefit.
What this research studies
People with schizophrenia often face challenges with decision-making, which can affect their daily activities and ability to pursue goals. This project aims to understand how attention, behavior, and thinking processes influence these decisions, particularly how individuals gather and integrate information before making a choice. We will use brain imaging (fMRI) and eye-tracking to observe these processes in real-time. By connecting brain signals to everyday decisions, we hope to uncover new ways to support better choices.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new interventions that empower individuals with schizophrenia to make more adaptive decisions, potentially reducing the burden of their illness.
How similar studies have gone: While neural circuits for impaired decision-making in schizophrenia have been identified, this project explores the less-understood processes of how information is gathered and integrated before a choice, making its approach novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zald, David Harold — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Zald, David Harold
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Improving decision-making in people with schizophrenia using brain imaging and real-life experiences
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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.