Neural Mechanisms of Social Feedback Evaluation in Young Adults Across the Schizotypy Spectrum: An EEG Social Judgment Study

Conditions

• Schizotypy
• Social Feedback Processing

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 35 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Accepted

Interventions

• Social Judgment Paradigm — BEHAVIORAL
  A computerized Social Judgment Paradigm in which participants receive experimentally controlled social feedback (acceptance/rejection) from purported peers or evaluators while continuous EEG is recorded to assess oscillatory activity and event-related potentials associated with social feedback processing. Feedback valence and expectancy are manipulated at the trial level, with trial order randomized within the task.

Study Details

This study will examine how young adults with different levels of schizotypal traits process social acceptance and rejection. Participants between 18 and 35 years old will complete a single laboratory session that includes questionnaires and electroencephalography (EEG), a noninvasive method that measures electrical brain activity through sensors placed on the scalp. During EEG recording, participants will complete a computer-based Social Judgment Paradigm (SJP) in which they form expectations about whether another person will like or dislike them and then receive experimentally controlled acceptance or rejection feedback. The study will examine how brain responses differ when social feedback is expected versus unexpected and whether these responses vary with schizotypal traits. The goal is to better understand the brain mechanisms involved in evaluating social feedback. This study does not provide treatment and does not test a drug or medical device.

Key Dates

First listed

Sep 16, 2026

Start date

Jan 1, 2027

Status verified

Sep 2026

Primary completion

Dec 31, 2029

Completion

Dec 31, 2029

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants (estimated)

Allocation

NA

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Arms

• Experimental: Social Judgment Paradigm
  Participants complete a single-session Social Judgment Paradigm during EEG recording. All participants experience four within-subject experimental conditions defined by feedback expectancy (expected versus unexpected) and feedback valence (acceptance versus rejection): expected acceptance, expected rejection, unexpected acceptance, and unexpected rejection. The order of feedback trials is randomized within the task.

Primary Outcome Measure

Frontal Midline Theta Power (4-7 Hz) [ Time Frame: Day 1 ]

Central Contacts

• Silvia Corbera LOpez Principal Investigator, PhD.
  860-832-3111
  [email protected]
• Brenda Lopez Grants and Funded Research Administrator
  (860) 832-2366
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

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