Motor slowing is a hallmark, clinical sign in mental illness. Slowness can be related to a
specific disease process, as in negative schizophrenia or depression or it can be the result
of medications used to treat forms of mental illness. Prior research has lead to a novel
instrumental approach for distinguishing subtypes of motor slowing - one type related to
cognitive processes and another related to parkinsonism. The purpose of this study is to test
whether new medications used to treat schizophrenia improve the cognitive or parkinsonian
components of motor slowing. Patients will be studied in the laboratory before and 8-weeks
after starting a new antipsychotic. The n of this study = 60 patients. The results of this
study will improve our understanding of the complex interactions between cognitive processing
and motor behavior in patients with psychotic illnesses and how drugs work to treat these
problems.
Phase:
Phase 4
Details
Lead Sponsor:
US Department of Veterans Affairs VA Office of Research and Development