Trauma, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and cognitive architecture (ver1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the role of trauma, pro-inflammatory cytokines, cognitive architecture and coping style in psychosis.
IRAS ID
237199
Contact name
Ciaran Mulholland
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast.
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
With trauma being related to both inflammation and psychosis, the aims of this research are to explore if there is a relationship between trauma, biological markers of inflammation (namely pro-inflammatory cytokines), and also explore if this relationship is mediated by psychological processes.
This will be done by comparing three groups. Group 1 will be students aged 18 to 30 years from Queen’s University Belfast. Group 2 will be individuals (16-34 years) who are at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis from the Service, Treatment, Education and Prevention (STEP) programme. Group 3 will be individuals (18-30 years) who are in treatment for first episode psychosis in the Early Intervention Team service in Belfast Health & Social Care Trust.
Participants will have a blood sample taken and sent for analysis of cytokines at the regional Immunology Laboratory. They will also complete the Trauma Experiences Checklist, the Trauma Appraisal Questionnaire, and the Brief COPE. Finally, participants will be asked to take part in an attentional bias task, where they will be asked to sit in front of a laptop and view a series pictures of faces presented on screen and “think about how the person seems to be feeling”.
REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
18/NI/0002
Date of REC Opinion
9 Feb 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion