The study will involve two visits* to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
Visit 1
Visit 1 will happen around the same time that you receive a diagnosis of psychosis from your doctor. The visit will take around six hours and involve:
- Questionnaires and interviews to assess your mental and physical health
- An MRI brain scan**
- A urine sample (for drug screening)
- A blood sample
*During the visit there will be regular breaks We may suggest splitting the first visit over two days to make it more comfortable for you.
**The MRI brain scan procedure is painless and safe and there are no known health risks involved. The scanner makes loud noises while it is operating and we will give you headphones or earplugs to reduce the noise to a comfortable level. Some people find being in an MRI scanner a bit unpleasant. A member of staff will be in constant contact with you while you are in the scanner, and if you feel uncomfortable in any way the scanning can be stopped. There is no radiation involved and no drugs will be administered.
Visit 2
The follow-up visit happen around two months after visit 1 and take around two hours. It will involve:
- Questionnaires and interviews to assess your mental and physical health
Optional extra visit(s)
In addition, you may be invited to download a specialised app if you have a smart phone, to undergo another brain scan using a technique called EEG, and we may ask if we can take a sample of the fluid from around your spinal cord (called a lumbar puncture). These extra parts are entirely optional.
Requirements
- Clinical diagnosis of first episode psychosis
- 18 - 65 years old
- You have not been receiving treatment with antipsychotic medication for more than 3 months (please discuss with the researcher if unsure).
- You are able to give consent
- You are willing to have your blood drawn and have an MRI scan
- You are not pregnant or breastfeeding, and you do not have any metal fragments in your body
The study will involve one visit to the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.
The visit will take around one day and involve:
- Questionnaires and interviews to assess your mental and physical health
- Brief tasks to assess your thinking abilities MRI brain scan*
- A urine sample (for drug screening)
- A blood sample
*The MRI brain scan procedure is painless and safe and there are no known health risks involved. The scanner makes loud noises while it is operating and we will give you headphones or earplugs to reduce the noise to a comfortable level. Some people find being in an MRI scanner a bit unpleasant. A member of staff will be in constant contact with you while you are in the scanner, and if you feel uncomfortable in any way the scanning can be stopped. There is no radiation involved and no drugs will be administered.
Requirements
- 18 - 65 years old.
- You do not suffer or have suffered from any previous psychiatric or neurological condition.
- You are not currently receiving any medication that may affect your performance (please discuss with the researcher if unsure).
- Do not have a history of drug dependence.
- Have not been using recreational drugs in past month.
- You are not pregnant or breastfeeding, and you do not have any metal fragments in your body
- An MRI brain scan is part of standard clinical assessment after a diagnosis of psychosis. This gives your doctor information about your general health, and to understand whether any other physical health issue might be causing your psychosis symptoms. In addition, the MRI brain scan will help researchers discover whether this information can be used to predict how well a patient with psychosis may respond to a medication.
- A brief physical exam is part of standard clinical assessment after a diagnosis of psychosis. This gives your doctor information about your general health, and helps your doctor to understand whether any other physical health issue might be causing your psychosis symptoms.
- A blood sample is part of standard clinical assessment after a diagnosis of psychosis. This gives your doctor information about your general health, and helps your doctor to understand whether any other physical health issue might be causing your psychosis symptoms. In addition, the blood test will help researchers discover whether this information can be used to predict how well a patient with psychosis may respond to a medication.
- A urine sample is part of standard clinical assessment after a diagnosis of psychosis. This gives your doctor information about whether your symptoms might have been caused by substances you may have taken. This information, as with all other information we collect, is confidential and will not impact your participation in the study.
- A lumbar puncture is not currently part of standard clinical assessment in the UK after a diagnosis of psychosis, however in some cases it may provide valuable for your doctor information about the cause of your symptoms. In addition, the lumbar puncture will help researchers discover whether this information can be used to predict how well a patient with psychosis may respond to a medication.