Can seven tasks help distinguish schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder from healthy people

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

Study 1 will have participants complete seven tasks across four sessions with EEG recording to compare their performance across diagnostic groups. Researchers will examine how task-based models relate to clinical measures of hallucinations and delusions, and whether these model parameters offer advantages over standard behavioral methods. The project also probes whether hallucinations and delusions arise from shared or separate underlying processes and whether task-based metrics improve prediction of psychotic symptoms. Participants will undergo comprehensive clinical interviews, self-report assessments, and neurocognitive testing to characterize function and symptoms. The study will recruit adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and matched healthy controls, and will analyze psychometric properties and variance explained by the tasks.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

General Inclusion

1. age 18 to 59
2. no substance disorder in past six months (confirmed with urine drug screens and breathalyzers);
3. no clinically significant head injury or neurological disease. 4. Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) score =16+.

Group Specific Criteria: Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorder (SZ):

1. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective;
2. no medication changes in prior month or anticipated in the next month or not taking medications
3. outpatient or partial hospital if unmedicated

Healthy Controls (HC):

1. no Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) Psychosis or Bipolar Disorder;
2. no family history of psychosis or bipolar

Exclusion Criteria:

Healthy Controls (HC):

1. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) Psychosis or Bipolar Disorder diagnosis
2. Family history of psychosis or bipolar

Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorder (SZ/SZA): additional exclusion criteria for the unmedicated individuals are:

1. not in acute exacerbation requiring immediate hospitalization or treatment
2. self-reported medication non-compliance for at least the four previous weeks 3)never having started medications

Where it's running

• University of California, Irvine
  Irvine, California, United States Recruiting
• The University of Chicago
  Chicago, Illinois, United States Recruiting
• University of Maryland, Baltimore
  Baltimore, Maryland, United States Recruiting
• University of Minnesota
  Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Recruiting
• Washington University
  St Louis, Missouri, United States Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Deanna Barch, Ph.D. — Washington University School of Medicine
• Study coordinator: Deanna Barch, Ph.D.
• Email: dbarch@wustl.edu
• Phone: 314-935-8729

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.