The self, neuroscience and psychosis study: Testing a neurophenomenological model of the onset of psychosis
Marija Krcmar, Cassandra Wannan, Suzie Lavoie, Kelly Allott, Christopher G. Davey, Hok Pan Yuen, Thomas J. Whitford, Melanie Formica, Sarah Youn, Jashmina Shetty, Rebecca Beedham, Victoria Rayner, Graham K. Murray, Andrea Polari, Łukasz Gawęda, Danny Koren, Louis A. Sass, Josef Parnas, Andreas Rosén Rasmussen, Patrick D. Mcgorry, Jessica Hartmann, Barnaby Nelson
Early Intervention in Psychiatry July 2, 2023 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1111/eip.13448 via OpenAlex
Summary
Basic self-disturbance may be a core vulnerability marker for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The Self, Neuroscience and Psychosis (SNAP) study tests whether specific clinical, neurocognitive, and neurophysiological variables relate to this disturbance in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. It also develops a prediction model for symptom persistence or worsening over 12 months. The protocol includes 400 UHR individuals, 100 clinical controls without attenuated psychotic symptoms, and 50 healthy controls, with assessments every 6 months for up to 24 months.
Study at a glance
| Design | longitudinal observational study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 550 |
| Population | individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis, clinical controls with no attenuated psychotic symptoms, and healthy controls |
| Key finding | The study protocol aims to test whether neurophenomenological disturbances associated with basic self-disturbance predict persistence or intensification of UHR symptomatology over a 2-year follow-up period. |
Abstract
AIM: Basic self disturbance is a putative core vulnerability marker of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The primary aims of the Self, Neuroscience and Psychosis (SNAP) study are to: (1) empirically test a previously described neurophenomenological self-disturbance model of psychosis by examining the relationship between specific clinical, neurocognitive, and neurophysiological variables in UHR patients, and (2) develop a prediction model using these neurophenomenological disturbances for persistence or deterioration of UHR symptoms at 12-month follow-up. METHODS: SNAP is a longitudinal observational study. Participants include 400 UHR individuals, 100 clinical controls with no attenuated psychotic symptoms, and 50 healthy controls. All participants complete baseline clinical and neurocognitive assessments and electroencephalography. The UHR sample are followed up for a total of 24 months, with clinical assessment completed every 6 months. RESULTS: This paper presents the protocol of the SNAP study, including background rationale, aims and hypotheses, design, and assessment procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The SNAP study will test whether neurophenomenological disturbances associated with basic self-disturbance predict persistence or intensification of UHR symptomatology over a 2-year follow up period, and how specific these disturbances are to a clinical population with attenuated psychotic symptoms. This may ultimately inform clinical care and pathoaetiological models of psychosis.