Auditory PerceptionLOCIZNCT06974513
Auditory Localization in Schizophrenia
A study testing cognitive experiments' session in people with Auditory Perception, run by Hôpital le Vinatier at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
Auditory sound localization is the ability to identify the position of a sound source in space. It is defined into 3 dimensions: by its position in azimuth, elevation and distance. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 35 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Auditory Perception
- What is being tested?
- cognitive experiments' session
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 30 Jun 2025to Jun 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 35 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Informed of the study and having signed the consent form
- With normal vision (with or without correction)
- Able to understand the experimental instructions
- Affiliated to the social security system
- French language spoken, read and written
Who cannot join
- Patients with a DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder or brief psychotic disorder
- Early intervention for first psychotic episodes
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
Official title: Auditory Localization in Virtual Reality in Patients With a First Episode of Psychosis
Auditory sound localization is the ability to identify the position of a sound source in space. It is defined into 3 dimensions: by its position in azimuth, elevation and distance. If it is difficult to localize a sound source, it is possible to remove the localization ambiguity by interacting with the environment, in particular by changing one's position in relation to the source (e.g. by changing the orientation of the head).
Patients with schizophrenia have difficulties to localize and discriminate sounds in space but it is still poorly explored.
Read more
Additionally, deficits in auditory localization could underlie difficulties in source-monitoring (i.e., distinguish the source/origin of the information) reported in schizophrenia or deficits in auditory externalization (i.e., perception of sound outside the head).
Furthermore, schizophrenia is characterized by cerebral abnormalities in the auditory cortex, manifesting as auditory processing disorders at different stages of the pathology. Auditory localization may therefore be impaired from the onset of a first psychotic episode (FEP). This early phase of the disease is also referred to as the "critical" period, as the chances of remission are highest and the response to treatment is best. However, the three-dimensional aspect of auditory perception and the behavioral exploration strategies used to localize a sound in the early stages of schizophrenia are still little studied.
Read the detailed description
The main objective of this study is to study the auditory localization performance on the horizontal and vertical planes (sound direction) in patients with a first episode psychosis (FEP) compared to healthy control subjects.
This study will:
- evaluate the role of head movement on auditory localization abilities in patients with FEP compared with healthy control subjects;
- evaluate the localization abilities of sounds in a noisy environment in patients with FEP compared with healthy control subjects;
- evaluate the repercussions of poor auditory localization performance on the ability to distinguish between what comes from an internal source and what comes from an external source (source-monitoring abilities);
- evaluate the repercussions of poor auditory localization performance on the ability to externalize an external auditory source compared with an internal source (auditory externalization abilities);
- evaluate the relationships between auditory localization performance and auditory discrimination performance (pitch, volume, length);
- evaluate the repercussions of the severity of symptoms in patients with FEP on auditory localization performance.
Subjects will undergo several auditory and cognitive tasks. The duration of the entire experiments will be 2.30 hours:
- An auditory localization task in virtual reality with the SPHERE paradigm: the subject is immerged into a room and sounds are delivered through loudspeakers in different localization on the horizontal and vertical planes. Sounds are delivered in two experimental blocks: silent and noisy background. Each block is divided into two listening conditions: fixed head and active head movement (i.e., with the possibility of moving the head). Subjects have to localize each sound.
- A source monitoring task divided into two parts: one part that will evaluate the reality-monitoring performances ('hear-imagine' task). Subjects either have to listen to words or imagine themselves listening to words; Another part evaluating internal source-monitoring performances ('say-imagine' task). Subjects either have to pronounce words or imagine themselves pronouncing words.
- An auditory externalization task: Nonverbal sounds are delivered through headphones and processed to be perceived inside or outside the head. Subjects will have to discern whether a sound is perceived as coming from inside or outside the head.
- A battery of psychoacoustic tests including the Tone Matching Task (TMT) which evaluates the capacity of discriminating static pitch.
- Conditions
- Auditory Perception
- Being tested
- cognitive experiments' session
- Keywords
- Localization, Auditory perception, Source monitoring, Virtual reality
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
cognitive experiments' sessionBehavioural
The aim of this unique session of cognitive experiments is to study the auditory localization performance in patients with a first episode of psychosis. Results of this Arm 1 will be compared to those of Arm 2.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Patient group with a first episode psychosis | Experimental | Tasks will include an auditory localization task performed in virtual reality, a source-monitoring task, an externalization task and a battery of psychoacoustic tests. Receives: Behavioral: cognitive experiments' session |
| Healthy control subjects | Active comparator | Tasks will include an auditory localization task performed in virtual reality, a source-monitoring task, an externalization task and a battery of psychoacoustic tests. Receives: Behavioral: cognitive experiments' session |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Auditory localization performance in virtual reality
an auditory localization task in virtual reality was design for this study. Sounds are presented in different localization on the horizontal and vertical planes. Participants performed two blocks (noise, silent background) divided into two conditions (localization with the fixed head or with the possibility of moving the head). Participants have to determine the localization of sound in space. The main outcome will be the perception performance corresponding to the directionality error (2Dd error in cm) in relation to the sound source.
Measured: Baseline
Secondary outcomes (7)
The impact of head movements on auditory localization performance
an auditory localization task in virtual reality was design for this study. Participants have to determine the localization of sounds in two different conditions: fixed head or with the possibility of moving the head. The main outcome will be the perception performance corresponding to the directionality error (2Dd error in cm) in the two different conditions.
Measured: Baseline
The impact of background noise on auditory localization performance
an auditory localization task in virtual reality was design for this study. Participants have to determine the localization of sounds in two different blocks: silent and noisy background. The main outcome will be the perception performance corresponding to the directionality error (2Dd error in cm) in the two different blocks.
Measured: Baseline
Source-monitoring performance
A computerized source memory task was designed for this study to assess the reality-monitoring (distinguishing real source and imagined source) and et internal source-monitoring (distinguishing two internal sources). The rate of correct responses and inversions are the outcome.
Measured: Baseline
Performance on auditory externalization
computerized auditory externalization task. Nonverbal sounds are presented, the azimuth is varied in order to create the impression of the sound coming either from inside or outside the head. Subjects have to determine whether the nonverbal burst was perceived as coming from inside or outside their head. The rate of correct responses (inside/outside) is the outcome.
Measured: Baseline
Performance on basic auditory tasks
a computerized psychoacoustic battery of tests : Tone Matching Task (evaluating nonverbal pitch). The rate of correct responses is the outcome.
Measured: Baseline
Performance on basic auditory tasks
a computerized psychoacoustic battery of tests : psychoacoustic tasks measuring amplitude. The rate of correct responses is the outcome.
Measured: Baseline
Performance on basic auditory tasks
a computerized psychoacoustic battery of tests : psychoacoustic tasks measuring length of sound . The rate of correct responses is the outcome.
Measured: Baseline
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 May 2025
- Study start30 Jun 2025 (estimated)
- Primary completionJun 2028 (estimated)
- Study completionJun 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Auditory PerceptionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- 30 patients with a first episode psychosis and 30 healthy controls
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Hôpital le Vinatier
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Frédéric HAESEBAERT, university professor, Principal investigator, hopital le Vinatier
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06974513
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2025-A00469-40
- Other IDs
- PRVR06
- Acronym
- LOCIZ
- Status last verified
- May 2025
- First submitted
- 29 Apr 2025
- Last updated
- 16 May 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 16 May 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Auditory Localization in Virtual Reality in Patients With a First Episode of Psychosis
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06974513
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- LOCIZ / 2025-A00469-40
- Conditions
- Auditory Perception
- Keywords
- Localization, Auditory perception, Source monitoring, Virtual reality
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Hôpital le VinatierUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 30 Jun 2025 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- Jun 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jun 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 16 May 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Auditory sound localization is the ability to identify the position of a sound source in space. It is defined into 3 dimensions: by its position in azimuth, elevation and distance. If it is difficult to localize a sound source, it is possible to remove the localization ambiguity by interacting with the environment, in particular by changing one's position in relation to the source (e.g. by changing the orientation of the head).
Patients with schizophrenia have difficulties to localize and discriminate sounds in space but it is still poorly explored.
Additionally, deficits in auditory localization could underlie difficulties in source-monitoring (i.e., distinguish the source/origin of the information) reported in schizophrenia or deficits in auditory externalization (i.e., perception of sound outside the head).
Furthermore, schizophrenia is characterized by cerebral abnormalities in the auditory cortex, manifesting as auditory processing disorders at different stages of the pathology. Auditory localization may therefore be impaired from the onset of a first psychotic episode (FEP). This early phase of the disease is also referred to as the "critical" period, as the chances of remission are highest and the response to treatment is best. However, the three-dimensional aspect of auditory perception and the behavioral exploration strategies used to localize a sound in the early stages of schizophrenia are still little studied.
Detailed description
The main objective of this study is to study the auditory localization performance on the horizontal and vertical planes (sound direction) in patients with a first episode psychosis (FEP) compared to healthy control subjects.
This study will:
- evaluate the role of head movement on auditory localization abilities in patients with FEP compared with healthy control subjects;
- evaluate the localization abilities of sounds in a noisy environment in patients with FEP compared with healthy control subjects;
- evaluate the repercussions of poor auditory localization performance on the ability to distinguish between what comes from an internal source and what comes from an external source (source-monitoring abilities);
- evaluate the repercussions of poor auditory localization performance on the ability to externalize an external auditory source compared with an internal source (auditory externalization abilities);
- evaluate the relationships between auditory localization performance and auditory discrimination performance (pitch, volume, length);
- evaluate the repercussions of the severity of symptoms in patients with FEP on auditory localization performance.
Subjects will undergo several auditory and cognitive tasks. The duration of the entire experiments will be 2.30 hours:
- An auditory localization task in virtual reality with the SPHERE paradigm: the subject is immerged into a room and sounds are delivered through loudspeakers in different localization on the horizontal and vertical planes. Sounds are delivered in two experimental blocks: silent and noisy background. Each block is divided into two listening conditions: fixed head and active head movement (i.e., with the possibility of moving the head). Subjects have to localize each sound.
- A source monitoring task divided into two parts: one part that will evaluate the reality-monitoring performances ('hear-imagine' task). Subjects either have to listen to words or imagine themselves listening to words; Another part evaluating internal source-monitoring performances ('say-imagine' task). Subjects either have to pronounce words or imagine themselves pronouncing words.
- An auditory externalization task: Nonverbal sounds are delivered through headphones and processed to be perceived inside or outside the head. Subjects will have to discern whether a sound is perceived as coming from inside or outside the head.
- A battery of psychoacoustic tests including the Tone Matching Task (TMT) which evaluates the capacity of discriminating static pitch.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- 30 patients with a first episode psychosis and 30 healthy controls
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Patient group with a first episode psychosis | Experimental | Behavioral: cognitive experiments' sessionTasks will include an auditory localization task performed in virtual reality, a source-monitoring task, an externalization task and a battery of psychoacoustic tests. |
| Healthy control subjects | Active comparator | Behavioral: cognitive experiments' sessionTasks will include an auditory localization task performed in virtual reality, a source-monitoring task, an externalization task and a battery of psychoacoustic tests. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 35 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Informed of the study and having signed the consent form
- With normal vision (with or without correction)
- Able to understand the experimental instructions
- Affiliated to the social security system
- French language spoken, read and written
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Patients with a DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder or brief psychotic disorder
- Early intervention for first psychotic episodes
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| cognitive experiments' sessionThe aim of this unique session of cognitive experiments is to study the auditory localization performance in patients with a first episode of psychosis. Results of this Arm 1 will be compared to those of Arm 2. | Behavioural | Healthy control subjects, Patient group with a first episode psychosis |
Primary outcome
Auditory localization performance in virtual reality
Time frame: Baseline
an auditory localization task in virtual reality was design for this study. Sounds are presented in different localization on the horizontal and vertical planes. Participants performed two blocks (noise, silent background) divided into two conditions (localization with the fixed head or with the possibility of moving the head). Participants have to determine the localization of sound in space. The main outcome will be the perception performance corresponding to the directionality error (2Dd error in cm) in relation to the sound source.
7 secondary outcomes
The impact of head movements on auditory localization performance
Time frame: Baseline
The impact of background noise on auditory localization performance
Time frame: Baseline
Source-monitoring performance
Time frame: Baseline
Performance on auditory externalization
Time frame: Baseline
Performance on basic auditory tasks
Time frame: Baseline
Performance on basic auditory tasks
Time frame: Baseline
Performance on basic auditory tasks
Time frame: Baseline
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 16 May 2025.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Frédéric HAESEBAERT, university professor principal investigator
hopital le Vinatier
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing cognitive experiments' session in people with Auditory Perception, run by Hôpital le Vinatier at 1 site in France.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 May 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Lydie SARTELET, Sponsor project manager (0437915531 ext. +33, lydie.sartelet@ch-le-vinatier.fr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Auditory localization performance in virtual reality (time frame: Baseline). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 May 2025; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 27 Oct 2026.