Brain Stimulation And Group Therapy to Improve Gesture and Social Skills in Psychosis (BrAGG-SoS)

NCT ID: NCT04106427

Last Updated: 2025-08-08

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

73 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-12-01

Study Completion Date

2024-04-24

Brief Summary

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Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial testing the effects of 10 sessions of continuous theta burst stimulation and the effects of 16 sessions of social cognitive remediation therapy on gesture performance and nonverbal communication skills in schizophrenia

Detailed Description

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The study focuses on nonverbal communication skills in schizophrenia. The trial will test, whether the combination of noninvasive brain stimulation and group psychotherapy will improve gesture performance and thus nonverbal communication in schizophrenia

Conditions

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Schizophrenia

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

QUADRUPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators Outcome Assessors
Assessments will be conducted by blind assessors. Participants will be blind to the type of psychotherapy and the type of rTMS administered

Study Groups

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cTBS plus SCRT

10 daily sessions of continous theta burst (cTBS) on the right inferior parietal cortex for two weeks together with 16 sessions of social cognitive remediation therapy (SCRT) twice per week over an eight week period according to the manual

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS)

Intervention Type DEVICE

cTBS stimulation of 17 mins over right inferior parietal lobe (IPL) with two 44 s stimulations separated by 15 mins, 10 sessions in total (5 per week). intensity will be 100% of resting motor threshold at 30 Hz.

administered in weeks 1 and 2 of the trial

social cognitive remediation therapy (SCRT)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

16 sessions of group SCRT will be scheduled within 8 weeks, comprising 6-8 participants per group with 2 therapists. Duration of group sessions will be 60-90 mins. The content will follow the manual of SCRT and we will add a short intervention to practice the use of co-speech gestures at each session

Placebo plus SCRT

10 daily sessions of placebo continous theta burst (cTBS) on the right inferior parietal cortex for two weeks together with 16 sessions of social cognitive remediation therapy (SCRT) twice per week over an eight week period according to the manual

Group Type PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

placebo cTBS

Intervention Type DEVICE

Placebo stimulation of 17 mins over right IPL with two 44 s stimulations separated by 15 mins, 10 sessions in total (5 per week). intensity will be 0% of resting motor threshold at 30 Hz.

administered in weeks 1 and 2 of the trial

social cognitive remediation therapy (SCRT)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

16 sessions of group SCRT will be scheduled within 8 weeks, comprising 6-8 participants per group with 2 therapists. Duration of group sessions will be 60-90 mins. The content will follow the manual of SCRT and we will add a short intervention to practice the use of co-speech gestures at each session

Sham SCRT

16 sessions of sham social cognitive remediation therapy (SCRT) twice per week over an eight week period. Participants will engage in non-effective group activities

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Sham group therapy

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Group activities in closed groups of 6 participants. Schedule of two sessions per week for 8 weeks. Two therapists are guiding different leisure activities, e.g. group walks, going to museums/movies, games.

Interventions

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continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS)

cTBS stimulation of 17 mins over right inferior parietal lobe (IPL) with two 44 s stimulations separated by 15 mins, 10 sessions in total (5 per week). intensity will be 100% of resting motor threshold at 30 Hz.

administered in weeks 1 and 2 of the trial

Intervention Type DEVICE

placebo cTBS

Placebo stimulation of 17 mins over right IPL with two 44 s stimulations separated by 15 mins, 10 sessions in total (5 per week). intensity will be 0% of resting motor threshold at 30 Hz.

administered in weeks 1 and 2 of the trial

Intervention Type DEVICE

social cognitive remediation therapy (SCRT)

16 sessions of group SCRT will be scheduled within 8 weeks, comprising 6-8 participants per group with 2 therapists. Duration of group sessions will be 60-90 mins. The content will follow the manual of SCRT and we will add a short intervention to practice the use of co-speech gestures at each session

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Sham group therapy

Group activities in closed groups of 6 participants. Schedule of two sessions per week for 8 weeks. Two therapists are guiding different leisure activities, e.g. group walks, going to museums/movies, games.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Right-handed subjects
* Ability and willingness to participate in the study
* Ability to provide written informed consent
* Informed Consent as documented by signature
* schizophrenia spectrum disorders according to Diagnostic and statistical manual version 5 (DSM-5)

Exclusion Criteria

* Substance abuse or dependence other than nicotine
* Past or current medical or neurological condition associated with impaired or aberrant movement, such as brain tumors, stroke, M. Parkinson, M. Huntington, dystonia, or severe head trauma with subsequent loss of consciousness.
* Epilepsy or other convulsions
* History of any hearing problems or ringing in the ears
* Patients only: any transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment in the past 3 months
* Patients only: any cognitive remediation therapy in the past 2 years
* Women who are pregnant or breast feeding,
* Intention to become pregnant during the course of the study,
* Female participants who are surgically sterilised / hysterectomised or post-menopausal for longer than 2 years are not considered as being of child bearing potential.
* Previous enrolment into the current study,
* Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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University of Bern

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Sebastian Walther, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Bern

Locations

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University of Bern, Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry

Bern, , Switzerland

Site Status

Countries

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Switzerland

References

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Chapellier V, Pavlidou A, Mueller DR, Walther S. Brain Stimulation and Group Therapy to Improve Gesture and Social Skills in Schizophrenia-The Study Protocol of a Randomized, Sham-Controlled, Three-Arm, Double-Blind Trial. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Jul 7;13:909703. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.909703. eCollection 2022.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 35873264 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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2019-00798

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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