NCT07177261Recruiting
Inter-Brain Synchrony in Schizophrenia
Inter-Brain Synchrony as a Neural Mechanism of Social Connection in Schizophrenia
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 11 Aug 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
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.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 100 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 2 Sept 2025
- Start date
- 11 Nov 2025
- Primary completion date
- 1 Aug 2027
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Diseases
- Schizophrenia
- NCT number
- NCT07177261
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 100
- From 11 Nov 2025 to the primary completion date, 1 Aug 2027
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Other illness
- 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)
Other
- evidence of IQ \< 70 or developmental disability
Who the study is looking for
- 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.
Age in the registry: 18 years to 65 years · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of California, Los Angeles Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Los Angeles | United States | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.