Perceptual Processing in Psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identifying Neural Signatures of Perceptual Processing in Emerging Psychosis: A Multi-Modal Imaging Approach
IRAS ID
277200
Contact name
Lars Muckli
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (NHS GGC)
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Psychotic disorders, such as Schizophrenia (ScZ), are debilitating mental illnesses with a prevalence rate of approximately 1%, resulting in enormous economic and social costs. Cognitive deficits, such as difficulties in attention, perception and memory, are considered a core component of psychosis as these predict the clinical outcome better than the overt signs of psychosis. However, although pharmacological treatments have been shown to improve the psychotic symptoms of ScZ, such treatments are mostly ineffective in treating cognitive impairments. Therefore, gaining further insights into the origins of cognitive deficits may be important for developing more effective interventions for psychosis.
In the proposed project, we will apply a new framework towards understanding cognitive impairments in psychosis that is based on current models of how the brain processes and transmits information. Recent evidence suggests two broad classes of processes can be distinguished that seem to support different functions and are characterized by distinct biological correlates: 1) a “feedforward” mode that transmits information based upon the characteristics of the incoming stimulus and 2) a “feedback” mode that is governed by the internal activity of the brain, such as expectations and predictions about events.
Until now, distinguishing these different brain modes using non-invasive brain imaging, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or Magnetoencephalography (MEG), has been challenging. However, novel evidence from basic anatomy and biology has suggested that distinct brain waves at different frequencies as well as particular brain channels may support these different brain modes. As a result, we will attempt for the first time to identify these brain modes through using state-of-the-art brain imaging and thus gain a new understanding of how the brain transmits information and how these processes might contribute to established psychosis as well as those who are at-Risk for the development of psychosis.REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
20/WS/0106
Date of REC Opinion
2 Nov 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion