Using Illusions to Boost Social Cognition (SOLLUSIONS)

Hôpital le Vinatier

Status: Begins enrollment in 1 month

Conditions: Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders; Social Cognition

Treatments: Behavioral: Visual-illusion social cognition session (immediate); Behavioral: Visual-illusion social cognition session (delayed)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07602712

2025-A02057-42

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to explore whether the observation of complex visual objects can help improve social cognition in people living with psychotic disorders. Social cognition refers to the ability to understand what others think, feel, or intend, and plays a key role in social relationships and daily interactions.

Main questions this study aims to answer:

• Does dyadic exposure to complex visual objects improve mental state attribution, as measured by the Faux Pas Test?
• Does the intervention enhance related domains of social cognition, including implicit intention inference (Hinting Task), interpretation of complex interactions (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition, MASC), and reduction of hostile attribution biases (Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire, AIHQ)?
• Are improvements maintained after one month, and do patients who receive the intervention later (waitlist group) show the same benefits once exposed?

Full description

This study is a randomized, controlled, monocentric trial evaluating a novel sensory-motor rehabilitation approach for social cognition. The study is based on the hypothesis that perception is interpretative and viewpoint-dependent, and that realizing this through concrete experience could generalize to higher-level cognitive processes required for social understanding.

Participants will attend three visits and complete questionnaires and tasks that assess social understanding before and after the activity, and again one month later.

Two groups will take part: one completing the workshop shortly after inclusion, and one completing it after a delay, allowing comparison over time. Participants will be randomized in one condition.

This research does not involve medication. It consists of simple tasks such as observing and describing visual stimuli, followed by a facilitated discussion.

Neuropsychological tests and questionnaires will be used to measure changes over time.

Expected impact: By inducing concrete perspective-shifts, the intervention aims to improve mentalizing, reduce egocentric biases, and strengthen interpretation of social cues. This bottom-up sensory-motor approach may overcome limitations of classical cognitive remediation programs by promoting deep experiential learning rather than top-down instruction.

If effective, the method may support long-term social reintegration, psychosocial functioning, and inspire wider clinical applications due to its low cost, ease of deployment, and strong ecological engagement.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 40 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 18 to 40 years
• Fluent French speaker
• Has provided written informed consent
• For individuals under guardianship (curatorship): inclusion is permitted if the curator is available to assist or advise when needed.
• Established diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, or brief psychotic disorder according to theDiagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5-TR) criteria
• Presence of social cognition impairment, defined by:subjective complaint reported by the participant or identified by care teams regarding difficulties in social interaction and clinical confirmation of observable difficulties (e.g., social withdrawal, misinterpretation of others' intentions, inappropriate social behaviour)
• Membership or entitlement to a social security plan

Exclusion criteria

• Clinical state incompatible with participation in group-based activities (e.g., severe psychomotor agitation, severe behavioural disturbance)
• Concurrent participation in another social cognition remediation program
• Diagnosis of intellectual disability
• Insufficient comprehension of French for verbal interaction and test completion
• Significant change in psychotropic medication within the past month
• Uncorrectable visual impairment preventing participation
• Pregnant women
• Individuals under full guardianship (tutorship)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 2 patient groups

Immediate intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Participants receive the visual-perception session shortly after baseline assessment. They complete neurocognitive and social cognition tests before exposure, immediately after, and again at one-month follow-up.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Visual-illusion social cognition session (immediate)

Delayed Intervention (Wait-list Control)

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants complete the same assessments as Arm 1 but receive the intervention only after a waiting period. This arm allows comparison between natural progression and workshop effects prior to exposure.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Visual-illusion social cognition session (delayed)