Evaluation of a Visual Remediation Intervention for Schizophrenia

March 28, 2018 updated by: Judy L. Thompson, Ph.D., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric condition that is associated with significant distress and disability. In addition to cognitive difficulties in domains such as attention, memory, and problem-solving, individuals with schizophrenia can experience visual-processing abnormalities, including impairments in visual acuity, low-contrast stimulus detection, and perceptual organization (i.e., perceiving visual information in an organized "perceptual whole"). These visual impairments are clinically significant, with research indicating that specific visual-processing alterations are significantly related to poorer performance on higher-level cognitive tasks, impaired facial emotion recognition, impaired reading ability, and worse functional outcomes. Despite such findings, very few studies have evaluated the therapeutic potential of interventions that are specifically designed to improve visual processing ("visual remediation") for individuals with schizophrenia. Thus the aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a computerized visual perceptual training program that targets low- and mid-level visual processes to improve visual, cognitive, and emotion-recognition functions in outpatients with schizophrenia through a small randomized controlled trial. The investigators will recruit up to 40 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who are receiving treatment in Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) Partial Hospital Program; half will be randomized to receive the computerized visual training, which will be delivered in small groups over a period of 12-14 weeks. The specific aims of this study are to collect preliminary data on: 1) the feasibility of participant recruitment and retention, and tolerability of the treatment components of the study; and 2) the efficacy of computerized visual training (VT) to improve low- and mid-level visual processes, and higher-level cognitive and social-cognitive performance. Based on preliminary data, the investigators hypothesize that the target number of participants will be successfully recruited and engaged in the VT intervention (n=16) and control condition (n=16), and that the participants who receive VT will demonstrate greater improvements on measures of low- and mid-level visual, higher-level cognitive, and social-cognitive functions compared to those who receive standard partial-hospital care without VT. The results of this initial trial will be used to inform the design and application for funding of a larger-scale investigation of visual remediation for individuals with schizophrenia.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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.

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 (Anticipated)

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.
40

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New Jersey
      • Piscataway, New Jersey, United States, 08854
        • Recruiting
        • Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC)
        • Contact:

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 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Between the ages of 18-60.
  • Meets DSM-5 criteria for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or schizophreniform disorder.
  • Currently attends the Rutgers UBHC Partial Hospital Program and plans to continue attending for at least the next 16 weeks.
  • If the participant is treated with antipsychotic medication, he/she is on stable treatment with this medication (i.e. no change in medication type, or substantial change in dose, for at least 4 weeks prior to participating in the study and no anticipated change for the next 16 weeks).
  • Has capacity to provide informed consent.
  • Is fluent in English.
  • Has a minimum binocular visual acuity of 20/100, as assessed at baseline using a standard eye chart, with the participant's typical vision correction (e.g., with glasses if the participant typically wears glasses).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Has met DSM-5 criteria for a substance-use disorder within the last 12 months (with the exception of tobacco use disorder, which will be permitted).
  • Has a verbal IQ score of < 70 per the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR).
  • Current or recent history of a medical condition that significantly affects the structure or function of the brain or eye (e.g., ocular or retinal disease, thyroid disease, untreated hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes).
  • Current or past neurological or neurodevelopmental disorder such as seizure disorder, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, or pervasive developmental disorder.
  • Has a "lazy eye" or history of severe eye injury.
  • Has received electroconvulsive therapy within the last 8 weeks.
  • Has a history of head injury with loss of consciousness lasting more than 10 minutes or with neurobehavioral consequences of the injury (e.g., need for follow-up treatment, cognitive or behavioral changes following the injury, etc.).
  • Any current use (last month) of non-prescribed amphetamines, opiates, cocaine, sedative-hypnotics, and/or cannabis.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: visual training condition
Participants in the visual training condition will participate in the visual training (VT) group, during which they will complete computerized visual training that targets low- and mid-level visual processes. Each group will include a maximum of 3 participants and will meet 3 times a week over a period of 12-14 weeks.
Behavioral: Visual Training
The computerized visual training (VT) program that is being evaluated was developed by Aaron Seitz, who is a co-investigator on this project; it includes 1) ULTIMEYES, which targets broad-based visual functions, including low-level processes (e.g., visual acuity, contrast sensitivity), and 2) visual perceptual organization exercises, which target mid-level visual processes. Both elements of the program also involve higher-level visual functions, such as visual search and visual attention.
No Intervention: control condition
Participants assigned to the control condition will receive standard Partial Hospital care without visual training.

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
Measure Description
Time Frame
contrast sensitivity
Time Frame: approximately 14 weeks (baseline and post-treatment)
A measure of low-contrast stimulus detection; contrast sensitivity thresholds at varying spatial frequencies will be examined.
approximately 14 weeks (baseline and post-treatment)
contour integration
Time Frame: approximately 14 weeks (baseline and post-treatment)
A measure of visual perceptual organization; total number correct, adjusted for guessing, will be examined.
approximately 14 weeks (baseline and post-treatment)

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.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

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.
Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research
University of California, Riverside

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: Judy L. Thompson, Ph.D., Rutgers University

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.
February 23, 2017

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

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.
February 28, 2019

Study Completion (Anticipated)

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.
February 28, 2019

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).
April 12, 2017

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.
April 17, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

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.
April 18, 2017

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.
March 30, 2018

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.
March 28, 2018

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.
March 1, 2018

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.
  • Pro20160000350
  • PC 51-16 (Other Grant/Funding Number: New Jersey Health Foundation)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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