Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia in Acute Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
1 other identifier
interventional
50
1 country
1
Brief Summary
This study will investigate whether viewing and identifying meaningful shapes or images hidden within nature pictures (pareidolia) can improve motivation and engagement in rehabilitation therapy for adults with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants will be randomly assigned to either a pareidolia-based activity group or a control group and will complete therapy sessions and assessments over approximately three weeks. The findings may help identify a simple, low-risk approach to enhancing rehabilitation participation after TBI
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable
Started Oct 2026
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
October 5, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
October 9, 2026
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
October 10, 2026
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
August 24, 2029
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
August 24, 2029
October 9, 2026
August 1, 2026
2.9 years
October 5, 2026
October 5, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Change in Therapy Engagement
Therapy Engagement and Motivation as measured by the Rehabilitation Therapy Engagement Scale (RTES)
4 weeks
Study Arms (2)
Structured pareidolia-based therapeutic activity.
EXPERIMENTALParticipants complete a structured pareidolia scavenger hunt involving identification of hidden images and shapes within nature-based pictures during rehabilitation sessions.
Nature-image viewing activity without pareidolia exposure.
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to search for hidden shapes.
Interventions
A clinician-guided pareidolia intervention in which participants identify and describe meaningful shapes or images embedded within nature-based visual stimuli during structured rehabilitation sessions. The activity is delivered as a progressive scavenger hunt with varying levels of image difficulty.
Participants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to identify hidden shapes or patterns.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Diagnosis of mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on hospital chart review.
- Age 18 to 80 years. Premorbidly fluent in English. Education level greater than 8th grade. Corrected visual acuity of at least 20/40.
You may not qualify if:
- Other neurological disorders affecting cognition or language, active substance use, epilepsy, history of psychosis or schizophrenia, hemianopia, severe spatial neglect, isolation precautions, severe visual impairment.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Shirley Ryan Ability Lab
Chicago, Illinois, 60610, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Central Study Contacts
Brook Boxrud
CONTACT
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
October 5, 2026
First Posted
October 9, 2026
Study Start
October 10, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
August 24, 2029
Study Completion (Estimated)
August 24, 2029
Last Updated
October 9, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-08