Recruiting

Social Cognition Training

Sponsor:

Rush University Medical Center

Code:

NCT06828471

Conditions

Huntington's Disease (HD)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Social Cognition Training

Study Details

Brief summary:

Individuals with Huntington's Disease have impaired social cognition, which is the domain of cognition that allows individuals to understand others' perspectives so that they can navigate interpersonal actions successfully (e.g., understanding someone may be sad based of their facial emotion or tone of voice and then responding in a sympathetic manner). Impaired social cognition is associated with impaired social functioning, poor psychological wellbeing and increased caregiver burden, which is known to be significant among those who care for individuals with Huntington's Disease. Computerized social cognition training has been shown to improve social cognition in individuals with schizophrenia, who, like individuals with Huntington's disease, have cognitive impairments. The investigators propose a pilot study of computerized social cognition training in individuals with Huntington's disease. This will be a feasibility study that aims to show that social cognition training in HD can be studied in preparation for a larger randomized controlled trial. The investigators hypothesize that social cognition training can improve social cognition, social functioning, and quality of life in individuals with Huntington's Disease and decrease caregiver burden among those who care for individuals with Huntington's Disease.

Conditions

Huntington's Disease (HD)

Study ID

NCT06828471

Start date

Nov 15, 2025

Status verified date

Dec, 2025

Completion date

Jul 15, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 15, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria for Individual with Huntington's Disease

  • Diagnosed with Huntington's Disease based on genetic testing
  • Must be between 18 and 65 years of age
  • Native English speaker who is literate in English
  • Stable psychotropic medication regimen for 4 weeks
  • Must have a score of "somewhat easily" on all items in the CPQ-12
  • MOCA >18
  • Completed 12 years of schooling
  • Access to laptop or mobile device
  • Willingness to come in person 6-12 weeks after first visit

Inclusion Criteria for Caregiver of Individual with Huntington's Disease

  • Lives with patient
  • Must be between 18 and 65 years of age
  • Native English speaker who is literate in English
  • MOCA >26
  • Willingness to come in person within 6-12 weeks after first visit

Exclusion Criteria for Individual with Huntington's Disease

  • Any known neurological condition (other than Huntington's Disease).
  • History of learning and/or intellectual disabilities
  • Currently actively involved in any other interventional trial (i.e. have begun the intervention) or within 4 weeks of completing the final assessments of an interventional trial.
  • Currently regularly completing a computerized cognitive training intervention.
  • Active suicidal ideation with some intent

Exclusion Criteria for Caregiver of Individual with Huntington's Disease

  • Inability to provide informed consent
  • Active suicidal ideation with some intent

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Social Cognition Training Group

Interventions

Social Cognition Training

Neuroplasticity-based social cognition training that targets a range of social cognition skills, including visual and vocal affect perception, social cue perception, theory of mind, self-referential style, and empathy

Primary outcome measure

  • Proportion of participants willing to consider study out of those who have been approached [ Time Frame: 32 months ]
  • Number of participants who adhered and completed the study [ Time Frame: 32 months ]
  • Ease of program on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being "very easy." [ Time Frame: 32 months ]
  • Participant satisfaction with the program [ Time Frame: 32 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Tyler Svymbersky

312-563-0676Tyler_Svymbersky@rush.edu

Locations

Rush University Medical Center

Recruiting

Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612

Contacts

Tyler Svymbersky

312-563-0676Tyler_Svymbersky@rush.edu

Principal Investigator:

Samantha Patel, MD

More Information

Sponsor

Rush University Medical Center

Last update posted

Dec 10, 2025

Last verified

Dec, 2025

Keywords

  • Huntington's Disease
  • Social Cognition
  • Caregiver Burden

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Rush University Medical Center on 2025-12-10.