Clinical Research Directory

Accelerated Neuromodulation Therapy and Neurocomputational Biomarkers in Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis

The goal of this study is to learn whether an accelerated form of neuromodulation therapy is safe, feasible, and well tolerated in young people at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P), and whether it is associated with changes in candidate biomarkers of treatment response. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either active accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) or sham stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, delivered over five consecutive days. The study will look at whether this accelerated treatment approach is safe and feasible for people at clinical high risk for psychosis, whether depressive symptoms improve after treatment, and whether computerized behavioural tasks and passive digital monitoring (wearables, smartphone apps, and speech analysis) can detect treatment-related changes that may serve as biomarkers for future, larger trials. Participants will complete clinical interviews and questionnaires, a cognitive battery, and computerized behavioral tasks; wear a Fitbit and use smartphone applications for at least two weeks before and throughout treatment; receive neuromodulation therapy or sham stimulation over five consecutive days; and attend follow-up visits at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months after treatment.

Family-Focused Therapy for Individuals at High Clinical Risk for Psychosis: A Confirmatory Efficacy Trial

The present study is a confirmatory efficacy trial of Family Focused Therapy for youth at clinical high risk for psychosis (FFT-CHR). This trial is sponsored by seven mature CHR clinical research programs from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS). The young clinical high risk sample (N = 220 youth ages 13-25) is to be followed at 6-month intervals for 18 months.

Targeting Processing Speed Deficits to Improve Social Functioning and Lower Psychosis Risk

This 10 week intervention, Specific Cognitive Remediation with Surround (or SCORES), is designed to target processing speed, a cognitive domain related directly to social functioning, which in turn, represents a vulnerability factor for psychosis. This remotely-delivered intervention combining targeted cognitive training exercises and group support was developed to directly impact processing speed, and at the same time, boost motivation and engagement in adolescents at risk for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Youth Experiences and Health Study

This study aims to identify unusual experiences and psychiatric symptoms that indicate a heightened risk for severe mental disorders - especially psychoses. It is important to develop reliable questionnaire methods that are cost-effective in first-stage screening, leading to in-depth assessments and targeted care. However, existing psychosis-risk questionnaires are limited in content, intended for adults, and have been insufficiently tested for actual predictive value. Therefore we will collect a new, large dataset from an unselected group of adolescents entering psychiatric care in three major urban areas of Finland. Comprehensive national health care registers will be used to assess how well the selected experiences and symptoms predict the participants' mental health over the following few years.

Seeing the Light: Early Intervention in People at Risk for Bipolar Disorder

In the current study, the feasibility, acceptability and effectivity of a new add-on early intervention program for individuals at risk for the development of bipolar disorder is evaluated. This intervention program entails psycho-education, light and lifestyle therapy in combination with Imagery focused Cognitive Therapy (ImCT). The program aims to contribute to early intervention by focusing on subclinical mood swings, anxiety symptoms, circadian rhythm and lifestyle factors such as activity level. We hypothesize a relationship between this early intervention and a significant improvement in mood symptoms, anxiety, subjective and objective sleep factors and lifestyle variables. Also, the feasibility, acceptability and associations with clinical improvement of symptoms will be studied. Additionally, in a separate validation study, data will be collected to validate a new instrument for the early detection of those at risk for bipolar disorders. The Semistructured Interview of At Risk Bipolar States (SIBARS) (Fusar-Poli et al., 2022) will be translated and validated in a Dutch sample, in cooperation with its creators, Prof. Dr. P. Fusar-Poli and colleagues.