Testing Effect and Schizophrenia

Retrieval Practice in Patients With Schizophrenia : an Exploratory Study Using Word Pairs

When people are tested on a previously learned material, they will latter remember it better even when compared to a condition where they can re-study it. This phenomenon is called retrieval practice and is supported by an extensive research literature mostly carried out in normal students. This paradigm begins to be used in cognitive remediation programs in patients suffering from memory difficulties.

The objective of this study is to investigate whether retrieval practice is spared in patients with schizophrenia.

If effective, this method could be used in cognitive remediation programs.

Since episodic memory difficulties are supposed to be secondary to deficits in the initiation/elaboration of efficient encoding and retrieval strategies our hypothesis is that retrieval practice is spared in schizophrenia

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Schizophrenia; Episodic Memory Deficits
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Retrieval practice effect using word pairs and cued recall tests with feedback

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • Laxou, France, 54521
    • Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy
  • Strasbourg, France, 67091 Cedex
    • Service de psychiatrie - Hôpital Civil - CHRU Strasbourg

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• French is the native language, or acquired before 5 years old
• People must be able to understand and follow the trial instructions

Specific inclusion criteria (for patients) :

• Diagnostic of schizophrenia, according to the DSM -5, clinically stable
• The treatment must remain unchanged during the trial

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe or acute cerebral disease
• Other actual psychiatric disorder
• Use of drugs with high anticholinergic effect
• Irregular use of benzodiazepines medication, or high dose of benzodiazepin (more than 2 mg of lorazepam per day or equivalent)
• Inappropriate use of drugs

Specific exclusion criteria (for healthy subjects) :

- Diagnostic of schizophrenia of a relative up to the third degree

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Healthy subjects	Behavioral: Retrieval practice effect using word pairs and cued recall tests with feedback; In the first phase (encoding), people study a list of 48 word pairs non semantically associated. Then (initial test), they recall half of word pairs or restudy the other half. In the second phase (final test) which takes place 2 days later, they recall all the 48 the word pairs.
Experimental: Patients with schizophrenia	Behavioral: Retrieval practice effect using word pairs and cued recall tests with feedback; In the first phase (encoding), people study a list of 48 word pairs non semantically associated. Then (initial test), they recall half of word pairs or restudy the other half. In the second phase (final test) which takes place 2 days later, they recall all the 48 the word pairs.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of word pairs properly recalled	- The aim is to investigate the retrieval practice effect using word pairs and cued recall tests with feedback in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. In the first phase (encoding), people study a list of 48 word pairs non semantically associated, then half of the pairs are presented in its completed form for two times, and for the other half the two subsequent re-exposure trials are framed as cued recall tests (the first word is presented and the subject has to remember and give orally the second word, and a feedback is given). In the second phase (final test) which takes place 2 days later, all the 48 word pairs are presented as a cued recall test. - We will compare in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls final performance recall for information studied and recalled ("test" condition) to those for information studied and then re-studied ("re-study" condition).	Final test : 2 days after the first experimental session

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Difference between final performance recall and memory span score	In each group (patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls) : Difference between the final performance recall (see primary outcome measure) in "test" condition and "re-study" condition AND memory span score.	Final test : 2 days after the first experimental session

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Strasbourg, France

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Jantzi C, Mengin AC, Serfaty D, Bacon E, Elowe J, Severac F, Meyer N, Berna F, Vidailhet P. Retrieval practice improves memory in patients with schizophrenia: new perspectives for cognitive remediation. BMC Psychiatry. 2019 Nov 11;19(1):355. doi: 10.1186/s12888-019-2341-y.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 6, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 26, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 26, 2014
• First Posted (Estimated): May 29, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 22, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 15, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Schizophrenia; Episodic memory deficits
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Mental Disorders; Schizophrenia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 5806