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Role of Inferior Colliculi in Auditory Hallucinations

NCT07003529 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 40

Last updated 2025-12-09

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The neural basis of auditory hallucinations (AH) in patients with schizophrenia is poorly characterized. Functional imaging studies investigate either the "state" dimension (i.e., the measurement of changes in brain area activation at the precise moment of AH onset) or the "trait" dimension (i.e., the neural correlates of the propensity to hallucinate). A corollary of AH (particularly acoustic-verbal) is the activation of brain regions involved in the auditory perception of speech (auditory cortex). One theory is that patients with schizophrenia with AH may have a deficit in processing their internal speech (i.e., external attribution to internal verbal content). However, there is little clinical data on the specific role of the mesencephalic region of the inferior colliculi (IC) in the formation of these symptoms. Preliminary research has shown intense expression of dopamine D2 receptors, particularly on glutamatergic neurons in mouse ICs. Thus, ICs receive numerous inhibitory dopaminergic inputs, likely involved in signal optimization and modulation. The study authors hypothesize that AHs are the result of a defect in signal inhibition by the IC, which lose their function as perceptual filters.

Conditions

Interventions

OTHER

Unenhanced brain MRI

Unenhanced brain MRI in five sequences: 1) T1-weighted anatomical sequences 2) Resting-state functional sequences 3) Task-based functional sequence 4) Structural sequence using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) 5) Routine magnetic resonance spectroscopy sequence

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Martin Pastre · CHU de Nimes

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
60 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-09-12
Primary Completion
2026-09-30
Completion
2026-09-30

Countries

  • France

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

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 NCT07003529 on ClinicalTrials.gov