Inter-Brain Synchrony in Schizophrenia

Inter-Brain Synchrony as a Neural Mechanism of Social Connection in Schizophrenia

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate for the first time in people with schizophrenia a neural mechanism that is thought to facilitate the formation of social connections - inter-brain synchrony - in order to improve scientific understanding of the neural mechanisms of social dysfunction in the disorder, and to provide a basis for the development of new and better treatments to improve social functioning and connectedness in the illness. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Investigate inter-brain synchrony as a neural mechanism of social connection in schizophrenia
2. Manipulate social closeness and test for effects on inter-brain synchrony across groups

The investigators will compare results from people with schizophrenia to a healthy comparison group (controls) who do not have psychotic disorders to see if inter-brain synchrony is greater in controls. Investigators will also compare measures of inter-brain synchrony before and after the social closeness manipulation to see if inter-brain synchrony changes with increasing closeness.

Participants will:

• Have a clinicial diagnostic interview and be assessed for clinical symptoms
• Have an EEG recorded while interacting with another person. Participants will first work with the other person to draw a figure, and then tap fingers together. Participants will then either undergo the experimental manipulation to increase social closeness (called, "fast friends") or undergo the control condition that does not increase social closeness (called "small talk"). Participants will then repeat the drawing and finger tapping assessment.
• After completing the experimental or control condition, participants will then repeat the procedure with the other condition that was not yet done.
• Be interviewed on the number and quality of social interactions.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Schizophrenia Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Fast Friends; Behavioral: Small Talk

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Eric Reavis, PhD; Phone Number: 310-206-8557; Email: ereavis@ucla.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Jonathan K Wynn, PhD; Phone Number: 44957 310-478-3711; Email: jkwynn@ucla.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • Recruiting
      • University of California, Los Angeles
      • Contact: Jonathan K Wynn, PhD; Phone Number: 44957 310-478-3711; Email: jkwynn@ucla.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• sufficient English fluency to comprehend procedures
• clinical group will include individuals with a DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia who are clinically stable (outpatients, with no hospitalizations 3 months prior to enrollment and no medication changes 1 month prior to enrollment)
• members of the community without a psychotic disorder, schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, or current major mood disorder, nor history of a first-degree relative with a psychotic disorder.

Exclusion Criteria:

• evidence of IQ < 70 or developmental disability
• history of significant neurological disease, serious head injury, or significant current substance use (moderate or severe substance use disorder in the last 3 months, positive urine toxicology screen on the day of assessment, or sedatives/anxiolytics taken within 12 hours of the assessment)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Fast Friends; Participants will interact with another person while both have their EEG recorded. Participants will ask and answer 12 questions with the other person that become increasingly personal in nature, e.g., "When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?"	Behavioral: Fast Friends; Participants will interact with another person while both have their EEG recorded. They will ask and answer 12 questions with the other person that become increasingly personal in nature, e.g., "When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?"
Active Comparator: Small Talk; Participants will interact with another person while both have their EEG recorded. Participants will ask and answer 12 impersonal questions with the other person , e.g., "Do you prefer digital watches and clocks or the kind with hands? Why?"	Behavioral: Small Talk; Participants will interact with another person while both have their EEG recorded. They will ask and answer 12 impersonal questions with the other person , e.g., "Do you prefer digital watches and clocks or the kind with hands? Why?"

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Interbrain synchrony	Circular correlations for 8-10Hz activity across electrodes and dyads	Interbrain synchrony will be measured immediately before and immediately following the procedure.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Social Network Analysis	Measures of social and family social connections. Participants will be interviewed about the number of social and family connections they have, and if these contacts also know others identified by the participant. These connections will be analyzed with graph network analyses to determine the size and quality of social connections.	Measured at the start of the study only
Behavioral measures of synchrony	Investigators will video record interactions between dyads (including voice, body, face) and measure behavioral measures of synchrony	Investigators will measure these during each of the two maniuplations (small talk and fast friends).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Eric Reavis, Phd, University of California, Los Angeles; Principal Investigator: Jonathan K Wynn, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 2, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 9, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): September 16, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 3, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 30, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: schizophrenia; EEG; hyperscanning; interbrain synchrony; social connections
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders; Mental Disorders; Schizophrenia
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB-25-1279; 1R21MH139044-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract: National Institutes of Mental Health)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: EEG measures of interbrain synchrony, clinicial symptom ratings, social connectedness measures
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: At the end of the study (November 2027) for indefinite period
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: These data will be shared on the NIMH Data Archive
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF; 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