Feeling of Being in Control of One's Own Action

Feeling of Being in Control of One's Own Action: Which Mechanisms in Healthy Volunteers and in Mental Diseases

The investigators aim is to understand the cognitive mechanisms that contribute to the emergence of delusions of control (the belief that one's own actions or thoughts are controlled by an external force). These symptoms are mainly encountered in patients with schizophrenia, and the investigators will distinguish patients with schizophrenia with or without this symptom together with patients with bipolar disorder. Based on the investigators previous studies, this project will help to determine the role of two elementary mechanisms in the ability to feel in control of voluntary actions: (1) the processing of the sensory consequences of action, and (2) the ability to build mental representations for sequenced actions.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Schizophrenia; Bipolar Disorders
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Experimental psychology methods (computer tests)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 198
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Strasbourg, France
    • Pôle de Psychiatrie - Hôpital civil

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 55 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorders (criteria DSM IV) or healthy controls matched with patients on age, sex and education level
• 18-55 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

• Past history affecting CNS
• Invalidating sensory disorders
• Intake of psychotropic drugs, except for patients
• Intake of benzodiazepines

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

5

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm 1; Healthy volunteers	Behavioral: Experimental psychology methods (computer tests)
Experimental: Arm 2; Schizophrenia with history of delusions of control	Behavioral: Experimental psychology methods (computer tests)
Experimental: Arm 3; Schizophrenia without history of delusions of control	Behavioral: Experimental psychology methods (computer tests)
Experimental: Arm 4; Bipolar disorders	Behavioral: Experimental psychology methods (computer tests)
Active Comparator: Arm 5; Matched healthy controls	Behavioral: Experimental psychology methods (computer tests)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Strasbourg, France
• Investigators: Study Director: Anne GIERSCH, MD, Hopitaux universitaires de Strasbourg

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Turgeon M, Giersch A, Delevoye-Turrell Y, Wing AM. Impaired predictive timing with spared time interval production in individual with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res. 2012 May 15;197(1-2):13-8. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.03.003. Epub 2012 Apr 11.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 15, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): July 4, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 1, 2011
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 10, 2011
• First Posted (Estimated): March 11, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 16, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 15, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Bipolar and Related Disorders; Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Schizophrenia; Bipolar Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 4880