Disorders of the Sense of Self and Physical Activity

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18-60
SponsorUniversity Hospital, Strasbourg, France

About this trial

Schizophrenia (SZ) patients with metabolic syndrome, patients with vestibular syndrome, and patients with borderline personality disorder, would benefit from physical activity (PA). Yet patient adherence to PA is low, at least in the case of SZ. the investigators work and the literature lead the investigators to consider that, in addition to motivational aspects, disorders of the bodily sense of self could play a role in this lack of adherence. Simply walking involves visual movements related to the self, which must be distinguished from movements in the environment. This means a distinction between self and not-self. Furthermore, these movements are all the more difficult to distinguish as they may also result from the fact that hidden objects become visible as a result of our own movement. In all sense-of-self disorders can themselves affect physical training, and the investigators will measure them in the first stage. In the second stage, the investigators will apply a standard, risk-free PA protocol by walking (3x3 sessions of 30 min). the investigators will test the impact of physical training on the sense of self under different conditions, with one environment minimizing self-related movement, vs. 2 environments with a variable level of enrichment (i.e. hidden objects inducing more or less self-related movement).

At the end of the protocol, the investigators will offer participants who wish to take part in an ancillary study, i.e. a walking session with mixed-reality goggles. These will superimpose a luminous flux on the periphery of the visual field. According to results obtained in the laboratory, this flux could restore sensory mechanisms impaired in schizophrenia. the investigators will use these glasses in the most difficult condition for the patient, and verify their impact.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Men or women aged 18 to 60 inclusive

Subject affiliated to a health insurance scheme, beneficiary or beneficiary's beneficiary

Able to understand the aims and risks of the research, and to give informed consent

Visual acuity > 0.7 on the Freiburg Vision Test (Bach 1996) due to the use of visual equipment

Disqualifiers

Serious or unstabilized somatic pathology (including cardiovascular)

History likely to affect cerebral anatomy or to be linked to an abnormality (neonatal suffering, neurosurgical operation, comitiality, stroke...)

Presence of joint pain, likely to worsen after exercise

- Substance use disorders (as defined by DSM-IV TR)

Trial design

Design model

Single group

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Physical activity

    Behavioral

    \- Physical activity: We will compare the impact of 3 different environments (with no object in the environment, vs. with some objects but no hidden objects vs. with objects at the fore- and background) during (total of 9 sessions of 30 minutes + 3\*5 minutes of testing), on the measure of self (see below). Visit 10: We will repeat a walking session. Participants will wear mixed-reality goggles, which allow them to visualize the environment and superimpose a continuous stream of light. This session is intended to test the idea that this flow would enable SZ patients to suffer less from the discontinuous appearance of information when moving around. Measure of 'self' : the participants will decide whether the line presented on a computer screen is static or moving. They will be immobile, walking on the spot in front of the computer, or passively mobilized with a whole-body movement platform. The latter condition will be used only in the first phase of the protocol

Treatment groups

168 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment group
Group A: Self and physical activity protocolExperimental treatment 1 intervention

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

Impact of physical activity on the 'self' measure

Quantification of the d' index, which represents the ability to discriminate between moving and static lines (whose movement is only related to one's own displacement, which induces a mirror movement on the retina). The d' will be measured three times per PA session, and in all 3 sessions per condition (neutral vs. enriched, with increasing complexity of self-related movements). The evaluation criterion will be the evolution of the d' index over the course of the PA training sessions in the 3 conditions.

Time frame
Day 0
2

Impact of physical activity on the 'self' measure

Quantification of the d' index, which represents the ability to discriminate between moving and static lines (whose movement is only related to one's own displacement, which induces a mirror movement on the retina). The d' will be measured three times per PA session, and in all 3 sessions per condition (neutral vs. enriched, with increasing complexity of self-related movements). The evaluation criterion will be the evolution of the d' index over the course of the PA training sessions in the 3 conditions.

Time frame
between Day 0 and Month 3

Secondary outcomes

Other outcomes

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