Lab Receives New Grant to Study Disruptions in a Sense of Self in Individuals Experiencing Psychosis

Our lab recently received a $1.5 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to understand why individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder experience psychosis. More specifically, we are testing whether faulty signaling between regions of the brain that are involved in producing movement and regions of the brain involved in sensation. These signals, known as corollary discharge signals, allow people to predict the sensations they will experience as a result of their actions. A match between the predicted sensations of an action and what the person actually experiences contributes to the subjective sense that we are in control of the actions we produce. Without proper transmission of the sensory signals, individuals with psychosis may experience confusion about how thoughts, movements or speech came about. By studying these signals, we hope to better understand the biological mechanisms of these symptoms.