Active clinical trials for "Schizophrenia"

This study aims to evaluate the acute effects of nimodipine on cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia using a battery of cognitive assessments.The subjects will also complete a 30-minute structural and functional MRI scan, with the goal of linking brain activity with working memory performance. Investigators predict that the performance increase induced by nimodipine will be greater in subjects who carry the A allele for the Calcium Voltage-Gated Channel Subunit Alpha1 C (CACNA1C) risk single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs1006737) in comparison to the response of G carriers.

Caffeine is the most used psychoactive drug in Canada, with regular consumption by 88% of the adult population, While rates of caffeine consumption are considered to be high in the general population, there is some evidence that they may be even higher within schizophrenia patients; in a 2006 U.S. study, daily consumption rates of caffeine were nearly double those observed in a healthy control population (471.6 mg/day vs. 254.2 mg/day). Furthermore, 13% of the schizophrenia population studied ingested more than 1000 mg/day of caffeine, well above the 400 mg daily maximum recommended by Health Canada. High doses of caffeine are particularly concerning for individuals with schizophrenia; caffeine alters dopaminergic activity at post-synaptic neurons through its actions at adenosine A2A receptors, which may exacerbate positive symptoms, such as delusions and hallucination. This significant rate of consumption is likely due in part to caffeine's actions on the human brain, resulting in increased arousal, elevated mood and beneficial effects on a wide-range of cognitive processes including verbal working memory, sustained attention, and executive function. These areas of caffeine-induced cognitive improvement notably overlap with the cognitive domains that are reported to be diminished in schizophrenia. Despite this overlap and the rates of caffeine consumption observed within schizophrenia, research reports examining the effects of caffeine on cognition and brain activity are all but non-existent in this population. The primary objective of this proposal is to compare the effects of caffeine and placebo on brain function during cognitive tasks in participants with schizophrenia. While the investigators have specific hypotheses for each task, overall the investigators hypothesize that caffeine will improve cognitive function (as evidenced by larger ERP amplitudes and/or reduced ERP latencies) compared to placebo in schizophrenia patients, with similar effects (albeit reduced in magnitude) observed in non-patient healthy controls.

Brief Summary: In schizophrenia, dislocation of psychic functions involving a loss of contact with reality is frequently found. A fragmentation of motor and sensory perceptions could be held responsible. However, automatic integration between perception and action is the necessary condition to be in "relationship with the world." Affordance is the experimental link between object perception and potentially associated actions (Gibson, 1977, 1979) explored by Stimulus Response Compatibility (SRC) paradigm. With Tucker & Ellis sensory motor compatibility task (1998), with a modified response device (responses given with grasp), we study the impact of motor activation on these affordance effects. In this study, a group of controls will also be included in order to understand, as precisely as possible, the mechanisms involved (i.e., interference between the perception of the object and the response gesture).

Experience dependent plasticity is a fundamental property of the brain. It allows neural systems to adapt in response to environmental input and subserves the vital functions of learning and memory. Deficits in plasticity are also thought play a causal role in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric disorders, specifically schizophrenia (SZ). Treatments that can probe or even enhance plasticity have potential to be of great clinical and research value. Non-invasive neuromodulation via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising method for modulating neural plasticity. tDCS delivers low-intensity direct current to cortical areas, thereby facilitating or inhibiting neural activity in a polarity specific manner. Due to its low cost and safety, tDCS has been employed in a wide variety of studies, but much remains unknown regarding its mechanism of action in humans. Experiments carried out in animal and tissue models indicate that tDCS modulates synaptic plasticity mechanisms of long term potentiation and depression (LTP/D), however, these findings have never been translated to human subjects, limiting the practical utility of the research. Recently developed electroencephalographic (EEG) based measures now allow the interrogation of synaptic plasticity non-invasively in humans, making it possible to explore the effects of tDCS on human brain plasticity.

The main objective of this study is to compare microglia activation as measured with proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-MRS) between recent-onset schizophrenia patients who are randomised to CBD and those randomised to placebo.

This study assess pharmacokinetics and safety of single-administration of Aripiprazole IM Depot formulation at doses of 300 and 400mg in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is associated with a wide range of symptoms impacting a number of different domains, including cognitive impairment. Given the array of cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia and their relationship to daily functioning, numerous research groups have examined the impact of cognitive remediation on many aspects of cognition. However, it is currently unclear as to which domains of cognition should be targeted to produce the most widespread and durable benefits for schizophrenia patients. It may be the case that targeting lower-level cognitive processes that are important for higher-level and more complex aspects of cognition may produce the most widespread benefits in cognition and everyday functioning. Relatively few studies have examined the effects of working memory or processing speed training on individuals with schizophrenia, as most studies examine broad-based remediation programs. Thus, there is a need for targeted working memory and processing speed training studies to better understand the mechanisms of cognitive enhancement through training in patients. This study will aim to: 1) investigate near-transfer gains associated with working memory and processing speed training in schizophrenia patients, 2) investigate far-transfer gains associated with working memory and processing speed training (i.e., gains in other neurocognitive domains and social cognition), and 3) investigate real-world gains associated with training (i.e., gains in daily functioning). Towards this aim, 81 schizophrenia patients will be recruited and randomly assigned to a working memory training group, a processing speed training group, or a no training control group. Training will be completed at home for 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for a total of 10 weeks. Neurocognitive, social cognitive, and daily functioning measures will be administered both pre- and post-training to detect training-related gains.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether add-on TAK-831 is superior to placebo on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale Negative Symptom Factor Score (PANSS NSFS).

The research team will develop and test a prototype version of OnTrack>An Online Role-Playing Game (OnTrack>The Game or OTG), an online role-playing game designed for youth and young adults experiencing First Episode Psychosis (FEP). Phase I showed positive changes in quantitative measures of hope and recovery, as well as an enthusiastic response to the prototype as evidenced by qualitative interviews. In Phase II, the research team will refine, expand and finalize OTG and evaluate the effectiveness of OTG.

The object is to develop a physical activity promotion program by applying social cognitive theory and wearable technology and evaluate its feasibility in people with MI Stage I: Accuracy, Acceptability, Feasibility. Stage II: Effectiveness Analysis In stage II, will conduct a single-blinded, randomized controlled study. 90 participants will be randomly assigned to experimental group or control group. The intervention for both groups will last for 12 weeks, with a 12-week of follow-up. The measurements include physical activity level, physical fitness, cognitive function and sleep quality, as well as the moderators of the effectiveness of program.