Cognition, Personality and Schizophrenia

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Recruiting

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 200

Inclusion Criteria

For participants with high and low levels of schizotypy:

Age: 18-40 years;
Language: sufficient knowledge of German;
a score above or below a certain threshold in a questionnaire for measuring schizotypy (Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences)

For schizophrenia patients:

Age: 18-40 years;
Language: sufficient knowledge of German;
schizophrenia diagnosis (ICD-10 and SCID criteria);
duration of illness < 3 years

Exclusion Criteria

For participants with high and low levels of schizotypy:

alcohol dependency / abuse;
drug dependency / abuse;
current diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder assessed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview
o major depression
o dysthymia
o manic episode
o panic disorder
o agoraphobia
o social phobia
o obsessive-compulsive disorder
o posttraumatic stress disorder
o psychotic disorder
o anorexia nervosa
o bulimia nervosa
o generalized anxiety disorder

first degree relative with a diagnosed psychotic disorder;
current or past somatic disorder potentially affecting the structure or functioning of the brain;
current or past neurological disorder or brain injury;
current or past head trauma with a loss of consciousness > 5 minutes;;
current regular consumption of any medication (other than contraceptive pill, vitamins or thyroid medication; occasional medication like aspirin is acceptable, as long as it is not taken during the examination day);
MRI exclusion criteria (claustrophobia, pregnancy, unremovable metal parts in the body)

For schizophrenia patients:

alcohol dependency / abuse;
drug dependency / abuse;
bipolar disorder;
unipolar depression with psychotic symptoms;
organic acute and chronic syndromes such as dementia or delirium,
current or past somatic disorder potentially affecting the structure or functioning of the brain;
current or past neurological disorder or brain injury;
current or past head trauma with a loss of consciousness > 5 minutes;
current regular consumption of any medication (other than antipsychotic medication, contraceptive pill, vitamins or thyroid medication; occasional medication like aspirin is acceptable, as long as it is not taken during the examination day);
MRI exclusion criteria (claustrophobia, pregnancy, unremovable metal parts in the body)

Study & Design

Study Type: observational

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
1. neuropsychological test battery, e.g., Continuous Performance Test, Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Figure of Rey etc. [dependent variable (DV) = performance]<br><br>2. Measurement of eye movements (DV = performance) with concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging (DV = BOLD signal);<br><br>Measurements 1. and 2. take place on two different days (not more than 4 weeks apart) or on the same day.

Secondary Outcome Measures