Healthy Adults
Conditions
Brief summary
The primary goal of the present study is to test whether neural activity in brain regions associated with processing threat and social stimuli may underlie paranoid thinking.
Detailed description
Paranoia is a prominent symptom of psychosis that occurs in several other diagnoses, as well as the general population, and that is associated with significant distress and impairment. Previous research suggests that increased baseline activity of the amygdala and related neural circuits may serve as a mechanism for paranoid ideation. This exploratory study will use a paranoia induction procedure in healthy individuals who vary in pre-existing levels of paranoid ideation to test whether increases in self-reported paranoia are accompanied by increases in resting cerebral blood flow (CBF), decreased stimulus-driven neural activity in social processing networks, and increased behavioral perceptions of untrustworthiness. Participants will be randomly assigned to participate in a paranoia induction procedure or a control condition and will then complete neuroimaging and behavioral assessments.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALParanoia Induction
Behavioral procedure involving social exclusion and negative feedback to induce paranoia
Sponsors
The University of Texas at Dallas
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* between the ages of 18 and 55
Exclusion criteria
* current psychiatric diagnosis * current use of psychotropic medications * history of head trauma with loss of consciousness for more than 15 minutes * presence of neurological or neurodegenerative disorder * sensory impairments that preclude assessment * presence of intellectual disability * contraindications for MRI (e.g., metallic implants or pregnancy)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) | CBF measurements will be obtained during the study visit and will last approximately 9 minutes. | CBF in amygdala and related neural circuits |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Amount of Neural Activity | Measurements will be obtained during the study visit and will last approximately 25 minutes. | Task-related activation of amygdala and related neural circuits measured with blood-oxygenation-level-dependent imaging |
| Ratings of Trustworthiness | Data will be obtained during the study visit and will last approximately 12 minutes. | Behavioral perceptions of the trustworthiness of others |
| Self-reported paranoid ideation | Data will be obtained during the study visit and will last approximately 5 minutes. | — |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed