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An Integrated Neurophysiological Approach Toward the Early Detection of Psychiatric Disorders

NCT06886945 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 75

Last updated 2025-03-20

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by cognitive decline, social withdrawal, and positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. Research suggests that SCZ and schizotypy exist along a continuum, with shared structural and behavioral abnormalities, the latter of which encompass the sensory and perceptual domain, often in the form of altered multisensory integration, as seen in tasks like the Sound-Induced Flash Illusion (SIFI). Individuals with schizotypal traits or SCZ show enlarged temporal binding windows (TBW) of cross-modal integration, affecting perceptual accuracy and multisensory judgments. However, whether these deficits stem from overactive top-down modulation or weakened bottom-up sensory precision remains unclear.

The current study seeks to address these questions, by asking participants (healthy individuals screened as for their schizotypal traits, and patients suffering from SCZ) to complete a modified version of the SIFI, as well as an audiovisual temporal order judgment (TOJ) task. Cross-modal performance will be assessed via signal detection theory (SDT) metrics and psychometric modeling to estimate individual TBWs, thereby assaying audiovisual processing abilities along the schizotypal continuum

Conditions

  • Schizophrenia Disorders

Interventions

OTHER

Audio-Visual Perceptual Tasks

Around 75 participants will be recruited for this study (25 per each group), and asked to perform two distinct audiovisual tasks (run via Matlab-based automated routines, and presented using a CRT monitor and a pair of loudspeakers) : 1. TOJ task, in which a white flashing dot, and a basic auditory stimulus, will be presented in close temporal proximity at several stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs, from 30 to 540 ms in steps of 30 ms), with participants asked to report ( after each trial), which stimulus occurred first (task duration estimate: 25 minutes, 30 trials per each SOA) 2. A modified version of the SIFI (mSIFI), in which the presentation of paired (and temporally close) auditory stimuli will be coupled with the occurrence of either 1 or 2 flashing dots, at several different SOAs (from 30 to 250 ms in steps of 10 ms), with participants asked to report (after each trial), whether they saw 1 vs 2 flashes (task duration estimate: 25 minutes, 30 trials per each SOA)

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Bologna

    collaborator OTHER

  • IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli

    lead OTHER

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-04-09
Primary Completion
2025-10-31
Completion
2025-10-31

Countries

  • Italy

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06886945 on ClinicalTrials.gov