- ICH GCP
- US Clinical Trials Registry
- Clinical Trial NCT04251195
Verbal Memory Training Using Virtual Reality in Schizophrenia
April 13, 2023 updated by: Synthia Guimond, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
Verbal episodic memory is an independent declarative memory system associated with language and is responsible for storage and conscious recall of previous personal experiences.
Verbal episodic memory is impaired in schizophrenia and is related to patients' functional outcomes.
Because no medication has shown clear positive effects on verbal memory impairment in schizophrenia, there is a great need to find effective cognitive remediation treatments (CRT) that could improve this domain in this psychiatric population.
Although CRT programs have shown small to moderate positive effects on verbal memory in individuals with schizophrenia, traditional lab-based computerised cognitive interventions have notable attrition rates.
In recent years, along with the advancement of technology, the development of Virtual Reality (VR) has allowed the possibility for new training techniques.
Previous studies have established the initial feasibility and safety of using VR in schizophrenia population.
However, no studies have examined the feasibility, safety and efficacy of combining VR technology with verbal memory training among individuals with schizophrenia.
Thus, in this study, we will adapt an exercise from the Strategy for Semantic Association Memory (SESAME; (Guimond et al., 2018; Guimond & Lepage, 2016) training to a VR environment.
We aim to determine the feasibility of using virtual reality in the context of a cognitive remediation intervention and to assess the initial efficacy of our verbal memory training on the use of semantic encoding strategies in people with schizophrenia.
We also aim to assess participants' experience and tolerability of the VR training.
Study Overview
Status
Completed
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
In this study, participants will first undergo the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revisited (HVLT-R) to assess the baseline use of semantic clustering and verbal memory recall performance.
Participants will then be randomly assigned to either a control group or a verbal training group.
Participants in both groups will undergo a short session (15 minutes) of VR training.
Finally, participants will be invited to perform an alternate version of the HVLT-R to assess initial change in semantic clustering and verbal memory recall performance after the training.
They will also complete the VR Experience Questionnaire and the simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) in order for the research team to gain feedback from participants regarding their experience and tolerability of the VR session.
Study Type
Interventional
Enrollment (Actual)
30
Phase
- 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
-
-
Ontario
-
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Z 7K4
- Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre
-
-
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
Ages Eligible for Study
20 years to 60 years (Adult)
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- age 20-60 years
- the ability to read and speak fluent English
- having a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective from a psychiatrist and confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I) interview
- considered clinically stable (on stable medication for more than one month, and have a score below 95 on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS))
Exclusion Criteria:
- having vision problems that cannot be corrected with contact lenses or glasses that fit into the VR goggles (because of requirements of VR headset)
- having significant neurological or medical disorders (other than schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder) that may produce cognitive impairment
- a recent history of substance abuse or dependence (within the past 3 months)
- decisional incapacity requiring a guardian
- having past or current conditions of seizure, epilepsy, migraines or cybersickness
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 |
Intervention / Treatment |
---|---|
Experimental: Cognitive Intervention
|
Participants will undergo 15 minutes of a cognitively challenging activity in the Virtual Reality environment.
(More details about each condition will be added after study completion to protect the blinding of our participants).
|
Active Comparator: Active Control Intervention
|
Participants will undergo 15 minutes of a cognitively challenging activity in the Virtual Reality environment.
(More details about each condition will be added after study completion to protect the blinding of our participants).
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Change in semantic encoding strategy use as measured by change in semantic clustering from baseline - the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revisited (HVLT-R).
Time Frame: baseline, post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revisited (HVLT-R) for verbal memory is a 12-item test to measure a person's ability to encode, combine, store and recover verbal information in memory.
|
baseline, post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
Feasibility of the intervention
Time Frame: baseline, post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
Feasibility of the intervention as measured by the number of people who complete the intervention.
|
baseline, post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Change in verbal memory performance from baseline
Time Frame: baseline, post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revisited (HVLT-R) for verbal memory is a 12-item test to measure a person's ability to encode, combine, store and recover verbal information in memory.
|
baseline, post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
Participants' experience and tolerability - VR experience questionnaire
Time Frame: post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
VR experience questionnaire is a 5-item questionnaire that our research team designed to obtain feedback from participants regarding their experience with the VR intervention following the completion of the VR session.
|
post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
Participants' experience - Simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ)
Time Frame: post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
Simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) is a 16-item questionnaire developed to examine the degree of cybersickness in participants after the use of VR.
|
post treatment (~20 minutes)
|
Collaborators and Investigators
This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.
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.
General Publications
- Guimond S, Lepage M. Cognitive training of self-initiation of semantic encoding strategies in schizophrenia: A pilot study. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2016;26(3):464-79. doi: 10.1080/09602011.2015.1045526. Epub 2015 Jul 6.
- Guimond S, Beland S, Lepage M. Strategy for Semantic Association Memory (SESAME) training: Effects on brain functioning in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2018 Jan 30;271:50-58. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.10.010. Epub 2017 Oct 25.
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)
February 12, 2019
Primary Completion (Actual)
February 17, 2023
Study Completion (Actual)
February 17, 2023
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
January 27, 2020
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
January 29, 2020
First Posted (Actual)
January 31, 2020
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
April 14, 2023
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
April 13, 2023
Last Verified
April 1, 2023
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- 2018048
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
YES
IPD Plan Description
De-identified data collected from this study may be shared with other researchers at the Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research for analyses and re-analyses.
Variables of the study and scripts used for analyses will be made available to the public.
De-identified data will also be shared with the general public upon request.
Data that can connect with participants' identity will NOT be used or shared for analyses.
IPD Sharing Time Frame
De-identified data will become available upon completion of the study and once results have been published in an academic journal (anticipated time frame: the year of 2021).
IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type
- SAP
- ANALYTIC_CODE
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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