Treatment-refractory Schizophrenia

There are three hypotheses proposed for this study: 1) Participants will report no unanticipated serious adverse events during the eight months of treatment. 2) Investigators will successfully model psychotic versus non-psychotic brain states using support vector machine (SVM) classifiers. 3) Participants specific brain stimulation parameters can induce a change in the brain state consistent with non-psychotic states as measured by classifier output. Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 address safety and tolerability, efficacy, and the putative mechanism of successful treatment. The overall objective is to use next generation Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) combined with antecedent stereo electroencephalogram (SEEG) mapping to establish a new therapy for treatment-refractory schizophrenia given the limitations of current treatment modalities. The primary objective is to demonstrate safety of acute and chronic network guided stimulation for treatment-refractory schizophrenia. Exploratory Objectives: 1. Use intracranial mapping (SEEG) combined with pharmacological manipulation of psychotic states to create a protocol for participant specific deep brain stimulation to treat treatment-refractory schizophrenia. 2. Develop closed loop stimulation protocols to modify brain states during psychotic brain activity induced by low-dose ketamine administration. 3. Investigate the use of mnemonic similarity to characterize brain networks related to symptoms of treatment-refractory schizophrenia. 4. Treatment-related objectives: Record a reduction in psychotic symptoms, as well as an improvement in psychosocial function and cognition.

Using a randomized controlled design, the project aims to test if cognitive behavioral therapy interventions specifically targeting sleep disorders can significantly lessen the burden of the disrupted sleep in patients with treatment resistant schizophrenia (TRS) and by proxy lead to a reduction in psychotic symptoms and improvement in quality of life. We are including treatment-resistant patients with schizophrenia other nonorganic and chronic psychoses and in addition meeting the criteria of a sleep or circadian disorder. Included patients will be block randomized to either 8-10 sessions of CBT-I (active treatment) with a specific focus on sleep or 8-10 sessions of regularCBT with a specific focus on patients' psychopathology (treatment as usual) approx.1 session/week. After 12 weeks the full battery of assessments will be repeated forboth groups. Primary analyses will be to identify group-difference in changes using repeated measure ANOVA.