Actively Recruiting
Role of Inferior Colliculi in Auditory Hallucinations
Led by Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes · Updated on 2025-12-09
40
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
50 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
The neural basis of auditory hallucinations (AH) in patients with schizophrenia is poorly characterized. Functional imaging studies investigate either the "state" dimension (i.e., the measurement of changes in brain area activation at the precise moment of AH onset) or the "trait" dimension (i.e., the neural correlates of the propensity to hallucinate). A corollary of AH (particularly acoustic-verbal) is the activation of brain regions involved in the auditory perception of speech (auditory cortex). One theory is that patients with schizophrenia with AH may have a deficit in processing their internal speech (i.e., external attribution to internal verbal content). However, there is little clinical data on the specific role of the mesencephalic region of the inferior colliculi (IC) in the formation of these symptoms. Preliminary research has shown intense expression of dopamine D2 receptors, particularly on glutamatergic neurons in mouse ICs. Thus, ICs receive numerous inhibitory dopaminergic inputs, likely involved in signal optimization and modulation. The study authors hypothesize that AHs are the result of a defect in signal inhibition by the IC, which lose their function as perceptual filters.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Role of Inferior Colliculi in Auditory Hallucinations
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Patient has given free and informed consent and signed the consent form
- Patient is a member or beneficiary of a health insurance plan
- DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenic disorder confirmed by MINI 7.0 interview
- Schizophrenic disorder duration is 20 years or less
- Patient is treated in a psychiatric unit as inpatient, outpatient, or under mandatory ambulatory psychiatric care
- Clinical condition is compatible with imaging based on judgment
- Ability to understand, write, and read French
- For hallucination group: PANSS score for hallucinations (P3) of 4 or higher and experienced hallucinations in past 15 days
- For control group: PANSS score for hallucinations (P3) of 1 and no hallucinations in past 15 days
You will not qualify if you...
- Patient is under safeguard of justice or state guardianship
- Contraindications to MRI including severe claustrophobia
- Congenital or acquired deafness
- Suicide risk based on clinical judgment
- Moderate to severe intellectual disability
- Moderate to severe neurocognitive disorders
- Receiving anticholinergic therapy (biperiden, trihexyphenidyl, tropatepine)
- Participating in another interventional study involving drug or device or Category 1 RIPH within 3 months prior
- Person under judicial protection
- Pregnant, parturient, or breastfeeding woman
- Unable to express consent
AI-Screening
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Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
CHU de Nîmes, Hôpital Universitaire Carémeau
Nîmes, France, 30029
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
M
Martin Pastre
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Model
PARALLEL
Primary Purpose
OTHER
Number of Arms
2
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