Neural Basis of Social Cognition Deficits

Launched by LOMA LINDA UNIVERSITY · Dec 23, 2021

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how the brains of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and those with schizophrenia-related conditions (known as schizophrenia spectrum disorder or SSD) work when it comes to social interactions. Researchers want to understand the similarities and differences in brain activity between these two groups, especially as they participate in a social skills training program called PEERS. This program lasts 16 weeks and involves both teens and their parents, focusing on improving friendship quality and social skills. By looking at brain scans before and after the training, the researchers hope to see how the program affects brain function and social behaviors.

To be eligible for this study, participants need to be between 12 and 18 years old, with a diagnosis of either ASD or SSD. They will have their conditions confirmed through specific assessments, ensuring they have the right cognitive abilities to participate. The trial also includes typically developing adolescents as a comparison group. Participants will undergo MRI scans to observe brain changes and will complete assessments to track improvements in their social skills. This study aims to provide valuable insights into how targeted social skills training can help teens facing these challenges.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Participants in this study will be 30 ASD adolescents and 30 demographically matched adolescents with SSD who undergo the PEERS social skills training program. Participants will be between the ages of 12-18 years, and mostly male reflecting the higher prevalence in the population of ASD, and to a lesser extent, SSD. The ASD adolescents will be recruited through the Loma Linda University Behavioral Health Institute (LLU BHI), LLU Behavior Medicine Center (BMC), and LLU Department of Psychology Child and Family Center (CFC). The SSD adolescents will be recruited from the BMC inpatient, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and standard outpatient programs for youth with psychosis. Thirty demographically comparable typically developing (TD) controls will be recruited through community samples, and in compliance with the LLU Institutional Review Board (IRB) standards. Before enrolling in the proposed MRI studies, prospective ASD participants will undergo testing with experienced assessors. Clinical diagnosis will be confirmed using both the Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised, and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition. SSD participants will be screened using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) Axis I diagnoses, with additional modules for assessment of childhood disorders. SSD participants must meet criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform, schizoaffective disorder, or unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder. All study participants will have verbal IQ as well as Full Scale IQ of 70 or higher on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II) to ensure they will have the language and cognitive ability to participate in an MRI scan.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Exclusion criteria will include history of significant medical/neurologic conditions that would affect neuroimaging interpretation (e.g., epilepsy, tumor), and any psychiatric history for TD controls. Participants with any MRI contraindications (e.g., history of metal fragment injury or metal implants, current orthodontic braces or nonremovable retainers) will also be excluded in compliance with scanner safety standards.