Social Cognition Training in Individuals With Huntington's Disease

Social Cognition Training in Individuals With Huntington's Disease: A Feasibility Study

Individuals with Huntington's Disease have impaired social cognition, which is the domain of cognition that allows individuals to understand others' perspectives so that they can navigate interpersonal actions successfully (e.g., understanding someone may be sad based of their facial emotion or tone of voice and then responding in a sympathetic manner). Impaired social cognition is associated with impaired social functioning, poor psychological wellbeing and increased caregiver burden, which is known to be significant among those who care for individuals with Huntington's Disease. Computerized social cognition training has been shown to improve social cognition in individuals with schizophrenia, who, like individuals with Huntington's disease, have cognitive impairments. The investigators propose a pilot study of computerized social cognition training in individuals with Huntington's disease. This will be a feasibility study that aims to show that social cognition training in HD can be studied in preparation for a larger randomized controlled trial. The investigators hypothesize that social cognition training can improve social cognition, social functioning, and quality of life in individuals with Huntington's Disease and decrease caregiver burden among those who care for individuals with Huntington's Disease.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Huntington's Disease (HD)
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Social Cognition Training

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Tyler Svymbersky; Phone Number: 312-563-0676; Email: Tyler_Svymbersky@rush.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Illinois
    • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612
      • Recruiting
      • Rush University Medical Center
      • Contact: Tyler Svymbersky; Phone Number: 312-563-0676; Email: Tyler_Svymbersky@rush.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Samantha Patel, MD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria for Individual with Huntington's Disease

• Diagnosed with Huntington's Disease based on genetic testing
• Must be between 18 and 65 years of age
• Native English speaker who is literate in English
• Stable psychotropic medication regimen for 4 weeks
• Must have a score of "somewhat easily" on all items in the CPQ-12
• MOCA >18
• Completed 12 years of schooling
• Access to laptop or mobile device
• Willingness to come in person 6-12 weeks after first visit

Inclusion Criteria for Caregiver of Individual with Huntington's Disease

• Lives with patient
• Must be between 18 and 65 years of age
• Native English speaker who is literate in English
• MOCA >26
• Willingness to come in person within 6-12 weeks after first visit

Exclusion Criteria for Individual with Huntington's Disease

• Any known neurological condition (other than Huntington's Disease).
• History of learning and/or intellectual disabilities
• Currently actively involved in any other interventional trial (i.e. have begun the intervention) or within 4 weeks of completing the final assessments of an interventional trial.
• Currently regularly completing a computerized cognitive training intervention.
• Active suicidal ideation with some intent

Exclusion Criteria for Caregiver of Individual with Huntington's Disease

• Inability to provide informed consent
• Active suicidal ideation with some intent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Social Cognition Training Group	Behavioral: Social Cognition Training; Neuroplasticity-based social cognition training that targets a range of social cognition skills, including visual and vocal affect perception, social cue perception, theory of mind, self-referential style, and empathy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Proportion of participants willing to consider study out of those who have been approached		32 months
Number of participants who adhered and completed the study		32 months
Ease of program on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being "very easy."		32 months
Participant satisfaction with the program	This will be a qualitative measure. The study staff will elicit from the participants what they liked about the program, what they did not like about the program, and what they would change about the program if they could.	32 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in accuracy on a facial emotion recognition task		6-12 weeks
Change in accuracy on an empathic accuracy task	Participants view videos of individuals describing significant life events. Throughout the videos the participant are asked questions about the thoughts and feelings of the individual in the video.	6-12 weeks
Change in score on the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities (scores range from 45 to 225; higher score indicates better outcome)		6-12 weeks
Change in score on the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities Questionnaire (scores range from 45 to 225; higher score indicates better outcome)		6-12 weeks
Change in score on the Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders Positive Affect and Wellbeing Questionnaire (scores range from 23 to 115; higher score indicates better outcome)		6-12 weeks
Change in score on the Caregiver Burden Inventory (scores range from 0-96; lower score indicates better outcome)		6-12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Rush University Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 15, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 15, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 15, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 11, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 11, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): February 14, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 10, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 3, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Caregiver Burden; Social Cognition; Huntington's Disease
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Behavior; Caregiver Burden
• Other Study ID Numbers: 24112605

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No