Can virtual reality unlock the mystery of time in mental illness?
NCT ID NCT04432116
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study uses virtual reality games and EEG brain scans to understand how people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder experience the passage of time. Researchers will compare 120 participants (patients and healthy volunteers) as they perform tasks in virtual environments. The goal is to identify brain signals linked to time perception problems, which could help predict and understand these conditions better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this research could lead to better ways to detect and understand time perception problems in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage observational study, not a treatment trial. It may not lead to any direct clinical changes or benefits for participants.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2021
- Expected to finish
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May 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a government body.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 60 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * \- Participant, male or female, between 18 and 60 years old * Subject affiliated to a social health insurance scheme (beneficiary or entitled person) * Subject who has dated and signed an informed consent form * For a woman of childbearing age, negative pregnancy test and effective contraception throughout the study * A patient under guardianship, whose guardian has dated and signed a consent, as well as the patient if able. * A patient under guardianship, whose consent has been obtained, if necessary, by the guardian or with the assistance of the guardian, prior to the commencement of any trial-related procedures. Patients only: * Patients with psychotic disorders (schizophrenia-like): Patients with diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia as defined by the DSM V (American Psychiatric Association, 2015). * Patients with Bipolar Disorder: A patient with diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder as defined by the DSM V (American Psychiatric Association, 2015). Exclusion Criteria: * Substance Use Disorders (as defined by DSM-V) * Intake of benzodiazepines (in the period before inclusion, for a duration equivalent to 5 half-lives of the product), cannabis (in the 2 months before inclusion) or hallucinogenic substances (in the period before inclusion, for a duration equivalent to 5 half-lives of the product). * A neurological pathology or sequelae * Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) * Borderline personality disorder * Disabling sensory impairment, including visual acuity (corrected, if applicable) \< 0.8 (due to the use of visual aids) (Freiburg Vision Test, Bach 1996) * Person deprived of liberty or under the safeguard of justice * Pregnant, parturient or breastfeeding women * Subject in a period of exclusion defined by another clinical study. Healthy volunteers only: History of major neurological or psychiatric illness with ongoing psychotropic medication (i.e., antidepressant, thyroid regulator, antipsychotic, benzodiazepine or hypnotic). Patients only: Only patients treated with neuroleptics, whether or not combined with an anti-parkinsonian corrector or anti-depressant, will be included. Patients taking benzodiazepines will be excluded
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Services de Psychiatrie I et II - Pôle de Psychiatrie CHRU Strasbourg
RECRUITINGStrasbourg, 67091, France
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