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 DOI: 10.1111/eip.13448 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractBasic self-disturbance is a potential core vulnerability marker for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The Self, Neuroscience and Psychosis (SNAP) study tests a neurophenomenological model of psychosis by examining clinical, neurocognitive, and neurophysiological variables in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. It includes 400 UHR individuals, 100 clinical controls without attenuated psychotic symptoms, and 50 healthy controls. Participants complete baseline assessments and electroencephalography; UHR participants are followed for 24 months with clinical assessments every 6 months. The protocol aims to develop a prediction model for persistence or worsening of UHR symptoms at 12 months and to determine how specific these disturbances are to attenuated psychotic symptoms.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Longitudinal observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 550 |
| Population | Ultra-high risk individuals, clinical controls with no attenuated psychotic symptoms, and healthy controls |
| Duration | 24-month follow-up with assessments every 6 months |
| Keywords | Neurocognitive Psychosis Prodrome Observational study Schizophrenia object-oriented programming |
| Citations | 6 |
| Key finding | The protocol describes a study that will 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.