Verbal Memory Training Using Virtual Reality in Schizophrenia
Condition: Schizophrenia; Schizoaffective Disorder
MeSH terms: Schizophrenia; Psychotic Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Verbal episodic memory is an independent declarative memory system associated with language
      and is responsible for storage and conscious recall of previous personal experiences. Verbal
      episodic memory is impaired in schizophrenia and is related to patients' functional outcomes.
      Because no medication has shown clear positive effects on verbal memory impairment in
      schizophrenia, there is a great need to find effective cognitive remediation treatments (CRT)
      that could improve this domain in this psychiatric population. Although CRT programs have
      shown small to moderate positive effects on verbal memory in individuals with schizophrenia,
      traditional lab-based computerised cognitive interventions have notable attrition rates. In
      recent years, along with the advancement of technology, the development of Virtual Reality
      (VR) has allowed the possibility for new training techniques. Previous studies have
      established the initial feasibility and safety of using VR in schizophrenia population.
      However, no studies have examined the feasibility, safety and efficacy of combining VR
      technology with verbal memory training among individuals with schizophrenia. Thus, in this
      study, we will adapt an exercise from the Strategy for Semantic Association Memory (SESAME;
      (Guimond et al., 2018; Guimond & Lepage, 2016) training to a VR environment. We aim to
      determine the feasibility of using virtual reality in the context of a cognitive remediation
      intervention and to assess the initial efficacy of our verbal memory training on the use of
      semantic encoding strategies in people with schizophrenia. We also aim to assess
      participants' experience and tolerability of the VR training.
    

Detailed description: 
      In this study, participants will first undergo the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revisited
      (HVLT-R) to assess the baseline use of semantic clustering and verbal memory recall
      performance. Participants will then be randomly assigned to either a control group or a
      verbal training group. Participants in both groups will undergo a short session (15 minutes)
      of VR training. Finally, participants will be invited to perform an alternate version of the
      HVLT-R to assess initial change in semantic clustering and verbal memory recall performance
      after the training. They will also complete the VR Experience Questionnaire and the simulator
      sickness questionnaire (SSQ) in order for the research team to gain feedback from
      participants regarding their experience and tolerability of the VR session.
    

Intervention name(s): Cognitive Intervention; Active Control Intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Participants will undergo 15 minutes of a cognitively challenging activity in the Virtual Reality environment. (More details about each condition will be added after study completion to protect the blinding of our participants).; Participants will undergo 15 minutes of a cognitively challenging activity in the Virtual Reality environment. (More details about each condition will be added after study completion to protect the blinding of our participants).
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Treatment