Cognitive Rehabilitation With Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in Schizophrenia: a Pilot Randomized Waiting List Controlled Feasibility Study (IVR SCZ)

February 17, 2026 updated by: Azienda Sanitaria Locale Napoli 3 Sud, UOCSM Torre del Greco
Virtual reality-based rehabilitation has recently gained increasing attention in the field of cognitive rehabilitation, allowing patients to engage in simulated real-life scenarios within a safe and controlled setting. The feasibility and safety of immersive VR-based cognitive rehabilitation in individuals with schizophrenia is currently insufficiently explored. This study seeks to evaluate whether immersive immersive virtual reality-based rehabilitation can be safely and practically implemented in a community psychiatric setting. The study also aims to explore preliminary effects on negative symptoms, cognitive performance, and global functioning compared with treatment as usual in a waiting-list control group.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

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

  • Italy
    • Naples
      • Torre del Greco, Naples, Italy, 80059
        • Azienda Sanitaria Locale Napoli 3 Sud Unità Operativa Complessa Salute Mentale Torre del Greco/Ercolano

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with Schizophrenia/Schizoaffective Disorder (DSM-5-TR)
  • Age 18-67 years
  • Chronic phase of illness
  • Able to provide a valid informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Recent substance use (less than six months)
  • Concomitant intellectual disability or neurological disorders (e.g., neurodegenerative disorders, Parkison's disease, brain cancer) that may impair the ability to undergo cognitive rehabilitation
  • With a recent (less than six weeks from the enrolling date) symptom exacerbation, hospitalization or change in pharmacotherapy
  • Acute phase of illness

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: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation
patients will undergo IVR-based cognitive rehabilitation sessions (about 45minutes) for 12 weeks as an adjunct to the Therapy as Usual (TAU)
Device: CEREBRUM VR
The Oculus Quest 3 Virtual Reality Headset, two joysticks, and the CEREBRUM - Virtual Cognitive Rehabilitation add-on tool are employed for the immersive virtual reality cognitive rehabilitation. The headset allows for an IVR 360° experience with spatial tracking and ability to free-roam in the virtual reality space. The aforementioned tool simulates real-life everyday scenarios, engaging different domains including memory and learning, cognitive estimates, metacognition and social interaction, attention and working memory, and planning. The Cerebrum protocol also allows for a personalized and adaptive difficulty based on each individual's abilities. Each session consists in a welcoming and 4-5 exercises from different domains. Each session is supervised by a Psychiatric Rehabilitation Professional.
Other: Waiting List
The patients randomized to the waiting list arm will not undergo IVR rehabilitation, but rather continue with TAU
Other: Waiting List
Participants will to not receive the IVR-based rehabilitation, but rather will be offered after the study ends. They will continue with their therapy as usual.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Total score, positive and negative symptoms, general psychopathology
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Digital Symbol Substitution Test (DSST)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Animal Naming Test (ANT)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Trial Making Test - A (TMT)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Simple Reaction Time (SRT)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Choice Reaction Time (CRT)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Azienda Sanitaria Locale Napoli 3 Sud, UOCSM Torre del Greco

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

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)

March 11, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

February 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 17, 2026

Last Verified

February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 29475 - 02/03/2025

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

The decision regarding the possibility of sharing of individual participant data (IPD) will be made in accordance with institutional policies, applicable data protection regulations (including GDPR), and ethical approvals governing the study. Given the pilot nature of the trial and the collection of sensitive health-related data, any potential data sharing will require careful evaluation to ensure adequate anonymization and protection of participant confidentiality.

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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