Early Psychosis: Investigating Cognition

Summary

The project aims to explore changes in brain chemistry in individuals who have recently experienced psychosis. Recent research suggests that chemicals in the brain, specifically one called glutamate, may behave differently in people who have experienced psychosis compared to those who have not. It is also known that some individuals with psychosis can find tasks involving memory and attention more challenging. This study aims at understanding how brain chemistry is linked to memory and attention, and if this is different between people who have and have not experienced psychosis.

The study will also investigate how a commonly used brain stimulation technique might help people with psychosis and other conditions by altering brain chemistry for a very short period. Non-invasive brain stimulation using very weak electrical stimulation has been used to help improve symptoms in individuals with psychosis and many other conditions, and has been shown to alter brain chemistry for a few hours after stimulation. However, it does not work for everyone. It will be investigated if levels of glutamate can predict whether brain stimulation will help an individual or not. In other words, the study investigates if glutamate can be used as a marker for tailoring treatments.

This project also aims to collect personal experiences or challenges that individuals with psychosis face. This information will be gathered through interviews. This will help to understand what specific difficulties individuals have, such as with certain aspects of memory and attention. The interview will also gather opinions and concerns about brain imaging and brain stimulation and current understandings of chemicals in the brain. For example, the study will explore why individuals may not want to take part in brain imaging or brain stimulation.

Conditions

• First Episode Psychosis (FEP)
• Psychosis

Interventions

DEVICE

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

2mA anodal stimulation to be delivered for 20 minutes using a Neuroconn DC stimulator PLUS which will be repeated once after a 20-minute break.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Using a 7T Philips scanner with total scanning session lasting no more than 1 hour.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Wellcome Trust

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Nottingham

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Claudia Danielmeier, PhD · University of Nottingham

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

55 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-02-09

Primary Completion

2027-08-31

Completion

2027-08-31

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations