NCT07875790

Brief Summary

In Study 2, investigators will recruit individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and or schizoaffective disorder (SZA) and healthy controls (HC) using optimized behavioral tasks to replicate the behavioral findings from Study 1 and to assess additional psychometric properties such as test re-test reliability and practice effects. Investigators will obtain data on: A) clinical symptoms, with detailed assessment of hallucinations and delusions; B) community functioning; and C) functional capacity, allowing us to examine clinical validity. To generate a sample with sufficient variation in hallucinations and delusions, investigators will recruit the following groups that balance feasibility with clinical relevance: A) healthy controls \[HC, N=125\]; B) schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder \[SZ/SZA, N=200\]). Investigators anticipate a \~20% screen fail/drop-out rate based upon prior studies. Thus, investigators will run an additional 40 SZ/SZA and 15 HC. Investigators will administer tasks optimized in Aim 1 without electroencephalogram (EEG), to this new sample of individuals with SZ/SZA and HC. All participants will be retested after approximately 28 days and repeat clinical assessments. Although the investigators' goal is to shorten task length using the Study 1 analyses, they will administer longer tasks than optimal for public dissemination in Study 2 to determine the minimum number of trials required for acceptable reliability. Study 2 will use the same clinical and functional measures as Study 1.

Trial Health

63
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
325

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
40mo left

Started Apr 2028

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

5 active sites

Status
not yet recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 8, 2026

Completed
7 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 15, 2026

Completed
1.5 years until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

April 1, 2028

Expected
3.2 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

June 30, 2031

Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

June 30, 2031

Last Updated

October 15, 2026

Status Verified

October 1, 2026

Enrollment Period

3.2 years

First QC Date

October 8, 2026

Last Update Submit

October 8, 2026

Conditions

SCHIZOPHRENIA 1 (Disorder)Schizo Affective DisorderHealthy Adult

Keywords

schizophreniaschizo-affectivehealthy controls

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

  • Motion Perception Task Performance

    With 15 degrees of initial or changed direction vs. the probability of failing to update

    1 hour

  • Sine Wave Speech Task Performance

    Percentage of trials coded as speech or not vs Dprime

    1 hour

  • Volatility Task Performance

    Percent correct bag captures during periods of stability vs. instability - patients worse in both, but particularly impaired in instability vs. Environmental volatility belief parameter

    1 hour

  • Choice Probabilistic Reversal Performance Task

    Win-switch rate (higher in patients, particularly paranoid patients) vs. (prior on volatility belief updating in response to volatility

    1 hour

  • Kamin Blocking Task Performance

    Number of times participant predict allergy following blocked cue vs. prediction errors and learning rates

    1 hour

  • Minnesota Trust Game Performance

    Percent of trusting choices depending on decision-agent and temptation vs. spite-guilt beliefs estimate

    1 hour

  • Dynamic Trust Game Performance

    Trust indexed by mean investment versus learning rates

    1 hour

Interventions

Motion Perception TaskBEHAVIORAL

Assesses updating of beliefs from new sensory inputs with prior knowledge via perceiving direction changes in random dot motion stimuli

Sine Wave Speech TaskBEHAVIORAL

Measures the degree to which overweighting of prior beliefs impacts processing of sensory inputs (detection of speech).

Volatility TaskBEHAVIORAL

Measures the updating of priors about the location of a bag drop from a helicopter when the location changes (prediction errors).

Choice Probabilistic Reversal TaskBEHAVIORAL

Assesses prior belief updating when feedback about obtaining positive outcomes changes (prediction errors).

Kamin Blocking TaskBEHAVIORAL

Examines the role of mismatches between learned priors and new information (prediction errors) in belief formation about event causes.

Minnesota Trust GameBEHAVIORAL

Assesses the degree to which people distinguish between their priors about others' motivations, such as selfishness and spite, and impersonal chance in one-shot trust game and dictator games.

Dynamic Trust GameBEHAVIORAL

Assesses degree to which people learn and update priors about trusting partners from dynamic social feedback (prediction error) in a social exchange game.

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 59 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Group Specific Criteria: Schizophrenia/SchizoaffectiveDisorder (SZ/SZA):
  • \) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) diagnosis ofschizophrenia or schizoaffective; 2) no medication changes in prior month or anticipated in the next month or not taking medications; 3)outpatient or partial hospital if unmedicated Healthy Controls (HC): 1)no Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) Psychosis or BipolarDisorder; 2) no family history of psychosis or bipolar

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (5)

University of California Irvine

Irvine, California, 92868, United States

Location

The University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois, 60637, United States

Location

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States

Location

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, United States

Location

Washington University

St Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States

Location

Related Publications (30)

  • Boudewyn MA, Erickson MA, Winsler K, Ragland JD, Yonelinas A, Frank M, Silverstein SM, Gold J, MacDonald AW 3rd, Carter CS, Barch DM, Luck SJ. Managing EEG studies: How to prepare and what to do once data collection has begun. Psychophysiology. 2023 Nov;60(11):e14365. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14365. Epub 2023 Jun 14.

    PMID: 37314113BACKGROUND

  • Li C, Boudewyn MA, Barch DM, Carter CS, Frank MJ, Gold JM, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Yonelinas A, Luck SJ, Erickson MA. Impacted and preserved sub-domains of cognitive control in schizophrenia. Neuropsychologia. 2026 Sep 9;230:109503. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109503. Epub 2026 May 25.

    PMID: 42184934RESULT

  • Boudewyn MA, Erickson MA, Winsler K, Barch DM, Carter CS, Frank MJ, Gold JM, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Yonelinas AP, Luck SJ. Assessing Trial-by-Trial Electrophysiological and Behavioral Markers of Attentional Control and Sensory Precision in Psychotic and Mood Disorders. Schizophr Bull. 2025 Mar 14;51(2):543-555. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbae038.

    PMID: 38616053RESULT

  • MacDonald AW, Patzelt E, Kurth-Nelson Z, Barch DM, Carter CS, Gold JM, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM. Computational modeling of reversal learning impairments in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder reveals shared failure to exploit rewards. J Psychopathol Clin Sci. 2025 Apr;134(3):262-271. doi: 10.1037/abn0000944. Epub 2025 Mar 10.

    PMID: 40063391RESULT

  • Erickson MA, Boudewyn MA, Winsler K, Li C, Barch DM, Carter CS, Frank MJ, Gold JM, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Yonelinas A, Luck SJ. Dysfunctional Alpha Modulation as a Mechanism of Working Memory Impairment in Serious Mental Illness. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 Dec;9(12):1271-1280. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.07.022. Epub 2024 Aug 6.

    PMID: 39117276RESULT

  • Barch DM, Boudewyn MA, Carter CC, Erickson M, Frank MJ, Gold JM, Luck SJ, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Ranganath C, Silverstein SM, Yonelinas A. Cognitive [Computational] Neuroscience Test Reliability and Clinical Applications for Serious Mental Illness (CNTRaCS) Consortium: Progress and Future Directions. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2023;63:19-60. doi: 10.1007/7854_2022_391.

    PMID: 36173600RESULT

  • Rac-Lubashevsky R, Cremer A, Collins AGE, Frank MJ, Schwabe L. Neural Index of Reinforcement Learning Predicts Improved Stimulus-Response Retention under High Working Memory Load. J Neurosci. 2023 Apr 26;43(17):3131-3143. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1274-22.2023. Epub 2023 Mar 17.

    PMID: 36931706RESULT

  • Kwashie AN, Ma Y, Barch DM, Chafee M, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Carter CS, Gold JM, MacDonald AW 3rd. Comparing the functional neuroanatomy of proactive and reactive control between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2023 Feb;23(1):203-215. doi: 10.3758/s13415-022-01036-6. Epub 2022 Nov 23.

    PMID: 36418846RESULT

  • Liu RG, Frank MJ. Hierarchical clustering optimizes the tradeoff between compositionality and expressivity of task structures for flexible reinforcement learning. Artif Intell. 2022 Nov;312:103770. doi: 10.1016/j.artint.2022.103770. Epub 2022 Aug 5.

    PMID: 36711165RESULT

  • Pratt DN, Barch DM, Carter CS, Gold JM, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, MacDonald AW. Reliability and Replicability of Implicit and Explicit Reinforcement Learning Paradigms in People With Psychotic Disorders. Schizophr Bull. 2021 Apr 29;47(3):731-739. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa165.

    PMID: 33914891RESULT

  • Geana A, Barch DM, Gold JM, Carter CS, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Frank MJ. Using Computational Modeling to Capture Schizophrenia-Specific Reinforcement Learning Differences and Their Implications on Patient Classification. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2022 Oct;7(10):1035-1046. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2021.03.017. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

    PMID: 33878489RESULT

  • Hamid AA, Frank MJ, Moore CI. Wave-like dopamine dynamics as a mechanism for spatiotemporal credit assignment. Cell. 2021 May 13;184(10):2733-2749.e16. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.046. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

    PMID: 33861952RESULT

  • Moran EK, Gold JM, Carter CS, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Luck SJ, Barch DM. Both unmedicated and medicated individuals with schizophrenia show impairments across a wide array of cognitive and reinforcement learning tasks. Psychol Med. 2022 Apr;52(6):1115-1125. doi: 10.1017/S003329172000286X. Epub 2020 Aug 17.

    PMID: 32799938RESULT

  • Pedersen ML, Frank MJ. Simultaneous Hierarchical Bayesian Parameter Estimation for Reinforcement Learning and Drift Diffusion Models: a Tutorial and Links to Neural Data. Comput Brain Behav. 2020 Dec;3(4):458-471. doi: 10.1007/s42113-020-00084-w. Epub 2020 May 26.

    PMID: 35128308RESULT

  • Ray KL, Ragland JD, MacDonald AW, Gold JM, Silverstein SM, Barch DM, Carter CS. Dynamic reorganization of the frontal parietal network during cognitive control and episodic memory. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2020 Feb;20(1):76-90. doi: 10.3758/s13415-019-00753-9.

    PMID: 31811557RESULT

  • Smucny J, Iosif AM, Eaton NR, Lesh TA, Ragland JD, Barch DM, Gold JM, Strauss ME, MacDonald AW, Silverstein SM, Carter CS. Latent Profiles of Cognitive Control, Episodic Memory, and Visual Perception Across Psychiatric Disorders Reveal a Dimensional Structure. Schizophr Bull. 2020 Jan 4;46(1):154-162. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbz025.

    PMID: 30953588RESULT

  • Gold JM, Barch DM, Feuerstahler LM, Carter CS, MacDonald AW, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Strauss ME, Luck SJ. Working Memory Impairment Across Psychotic disorders. Schizophr Bull. 2019 Jun 18;45(4):804-812. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sby134.

    PMID: 30260448RESULT

  • Smucny J, Barch DM, Gold JM, Strauss ME, MacDonald AW 3rd, Boudewyn MA, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Carter CS. Cross-diagnostic analysis of cognitive control in mental illness: Insights from the CNTRACS consortium. Schizophr Res. 2019 Jun;208:377-383. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.01.018. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

    PMID: 30704863RESULT

  • Ermel J, Carter CS, Gold JM, MacDonald AW 3rd, Daniel Ragland J, Silverstein SM, Strauss ME, Barch DM. Self versus informant reports on the specific levels of functioning scale: Relationships to depression and cognition in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Schizophr Res Cogn. 2017 May 9;9:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.scog.2017.04.001. eCollection 2017 Sep.

    PMID: 28740827RESULT

  • Barch DM, Carter CS, Gold JM, Johnson SL, Kring AM, MacDonald AW, Pizzagalli DA, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Strauss ME. Explicit and implicit reinforcement learning across the psychosis spectrum. J Abnorm Psychol. 2017 Jul;126(5):694-711. doi: 10.1037/abn0000259. Epub 2017 Apr 13.

    PMID: 28406662RESULT

  • Lopez-Garcia P, Lesh TA, Salo T, Barch DM, MacDonald AW 3rd, Gold JM, Ragland JD, Strauss M, Silverstein SM, Carter CS. The neural circuitry supporting goal maintenance during cognitive control: a comparison of expectancy AX-CPT and dot probe expectancy paradigms. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2016 Feb;16(1):164-75. doi: 10.3758/s13415-015-0384-1.

    PMID: 26494483RESULT

  • Ragland JD, Ranganath C, Harms MP, Barch DM, Gold JM, Layher E, Lesh TA, MacDonald AW 3rd, Niendam TA, Phillips J, Silverstein SM, Yonelinas AP, Carter CS. Functional and Neuroanatomic Specificity of Episodic Memory Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of the Relational and Item-Specific Encoding Task. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015 Sep;72(9):909-16. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0276.

    PMID: 26200928RESULT

  • Silverstein SM, Harms MP, Carter CS, Gold JM, Keane BP, MacDonald A 3rd, Ragland JD, Barch DM. Cortical contributions to impaired contour integration in schizophrenia. Neuropsychologia. 2015 Aug;75:469-80. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.07.003. Epub 2015 Jul 6.

    PMID: 26160288RESULT

  • Sheffield JM, Repovs G, Harms MP, Carter CS, Gold JM, MacDonald AW 3rd, Daniel Ragland J, Silverstein SM, Godwin D, Barch DM. Fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular network integrity and cognition in health and schizophrenia. Neuropsychologia. 2015 Jul;73:82-93. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.05.006. Epub 2015 May 13.

    PMID: 25979608RESULT

  • Barch DM, Sheffield JM. Cognitive impairments in psychotic disorders: common mechanisms and measurement. World Psychiatry. 2014 Oct;13(3):224-32. doi: 10.1002/wps.20145.

    PMID: 25273286RESULT

  • Sheffield JM, Gold JM, Strauss ME, Carter CS, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Barch DM. Common and specific cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: relationships to function. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2014 Mar;14(1):161-74. doi: 10.3758/s13415-013-0211-5.

    PMID: 24037621RESULT

  • Strauss ME, McLouth CJ, Barch DM, Carter CS, Gold JM, Luck SJ, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Ranganath C, Keane BP, Silverstein SM. Temporal stability and moderating effects of age and sex on CNTRaCS task performance. Schizophr Bull. 2014 Jul;40(4):835-44. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbt089. Epub 2013 Jul 1.

    PMID: 23817024RESULT

  • Owoso A, Carter CS, Gold JM, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Silverstein SM, Strauss ME, Barch DM. Cognition in schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder: impairments that are more similar than different. Psychol Med. 2013 Dec;43(12):2535-45. doi: 10.1017/S0033291713000536. Epub 2013 Mar 25.

    PMID: 23522057RESULT

  • Keane BP, Silverstein SM, Barch DM, Carter CS, Gold JM, Kovacs I, MacDonald AW 3rd, Ragland JD, Strauss ME. The spatial range of contour integration deficits in schizophrenia. Exp Brain Res. 2012 Aug;220(3-4):251-9. doi: 10.1007/s00221-012-3134-4. Epub 2012 Jun 19.

    PMID: 22710617RESULT

  • Barch DM, Mathalon DH. Using brain imaging measures in studies of procognitive pharmacologic agents in schizophrenia: psychometric and quality assurance considerations. Biol Psychiatry. 2011 Jul 1;70(1):13-8. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.01.004. Epub 2011 Feb 21.

    PMID: 21334602RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Psychotic DisordersSchizophrenia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic DisordersMental Disorders

Study Officials

  • Deanna Barch, PhD

    Washington University School of Medicine

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Deanna Barch, Ph.D.

CONTACT

314-935-8729dbarch@wustl.edu

Lori Ingram

CONTACT

314-747-2160ingram@wustl.edu

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NA
Masking
NONE
Purpose
BASIC SCIENCE
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences Professor of Radiology , Gregory B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 8, 2026

First Posted

October 15, 2026

Study Start (Estimated)

April 1, 2028

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2031

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 30, 2031

Last Updated

October 15, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-10

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Our plan is to share de-identified participant data through the National Data Archive (NDA) as required by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Locations

US(5)