Virtual Rehabilitation for the Treatment of Motivational Deficits in Schizophrenia

September 9, 2019 updated by: George Foussias, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
The loss of motivation has emerged as a critical symptom in schizophrenia that is consistently linked to functional disability for affected individuals. Despite advances in treatment, there have not emerged any effective treatments for this loss of motivation, which ultimately hinders our ability to promote recovery for individuals with schizophrenia. To address this critical unmet therapeutic need, this study aims to investigate a novel computerized motivation rehabilitation program using virtual reality to treat motivation loss in schizophrenia.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Motivational deficits have emerged as a critical determinant of functional disability in schizophrenia (SZ). Despite significant advances in our understanding and treatment of the illness, effective therapeutic strategies for motivational deficits have remained elusive. This has ultimately hindered our ability to promote recovery for individuals with SZ so that they can return to their premorbid level of functioning. An emerging therapeutic approach in SZ has utilized computerized remediation strategies, with recent efforts focused on cognitive deficits. To date, however, such a therapeutic strategy has not been developed for the critical motivational deficits in SZ. In light of the detrimental functional consequences of motivational deficits in SZ, there is a clear need for effective therapeutic strategies for the treatment of these motivational deficits experienced by affected individuals. To address this unmet therapeutic need, this pilot therapeutic trial will investigate the efficacy of a novel virtual reality-based motivation rehabilitation program in schizophrenia.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
20

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 1R8
        • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Between 18 and 35 years old;
  2. DSM-IV diagnosis of Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder;
  3. Outpatients on a stable dose of antipsychotic and other psychotropic medications for the preceding 4 weeks;
  4. Minimum Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) score of 34.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Diagnosis of other DSM-IV Axis I disorders;
  2. History of active substance abuse or dependence in the past 6 months, with the exception of nicotine;
  3. History of neurological disease;
  4. History of head trauma with loss of consciousness >30 minutes
  5. Presence of significant akathisia (a rating of >2 on the Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS) Global item); or
  6. Presence of significant extrapyramidal symptoms (a rating of >2 on >2 items of the Simpson Angus Rating Scale (SARS))
  7. Any MRI contraindications.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: VR Motivation Training
Weekly training sessions with a VR motivation treatment 1 hour per week for 8 weeks.
Behavioral: VR Motivation Training
Computerized treatment with a virtual reality-based motivation training program, administered for 1 hour per week for 8 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES)
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS)
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks
Quality of Life Scale (QLS)
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks
Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS)
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks
Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS)
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks
Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS)
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks
Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ)
Time Frame: 9 weeks
9 weeks
Functional Brain Imaging
Time Frame: 9 weeks
Change in regional brain activity measured with functional MRI
9 weeks
Structural Brain Imaging
Time Frame: 9 weeks
Changes in brain structure (e.g., white matter tract integrity) measure with structural MRI
9 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: George Foussias, MD PhD FRCPC, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2016

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 11, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 11, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 16, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 11, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 9, 2019

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 033-2015

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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