GPS mobility as a digital biomarker of negative symptoms in schizophrenia: a case control study

Abstract Mobility is an important correlate of physical, cognitive, and mental health in chronic illness, and can be measured passively with mobile phone global positional satellite (GPS) sensors. To date, GPS data have been reported in a few studies of schizophrenia, yet it is unclear whether these data correlate with concurrent momentary reports of location, vary by people with schizophrenia and healthy comparison subjects, or associate with symptom clusters in schizophrenia. A total of 142 participants with schizophrenia (n = 86) or healthy comparison subjects (n = 56) completed 7 days of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) reports of location and behavior, and simultaneous GPS locations were tracked every five minutes. We found that GPS-derived indicators of average distance travelled overall and distance from home, as well as percent of GPS samples at home were highly correlated with EMA reports of location at the day- and week-averaged level. GPS-based mobility indicators were lower in schizophrenia with medium to large effect sizes. Less GPS mobility was related to greater negative symptom severity, particularly diminished motivation, whereas greater GPS mobility was weakly associated with more community functioning. Neurocognition, depression, and positive symptoms were not associated with mobility indicators. Therefore, passive GPS sensing could provide a low-burden proxy measure of important outcomes in schizophrenia, including negative symptoms and possibly of functioning. As such, passive GPS sensing could be used for monitoring and timely interventions for negative symptoms in young persons at high risk for schizophrenia.

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O1.6. AFFECTIVE DETERMINANTS OF LIFE-SPACE THROUGH GPS AND ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENT IN SCHIZOPHRENIA: WHAT GETS PEOPLE OUT OF THE HOUSE?

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sbaa028.005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S3-S3

Author(s):

Emma Parrish ◽

Colin Depp ◽

Raeanne C Moore ◽

Philip D Harvey ◽

Jason Holden ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Negative Emotion ◽

Temporal Association ◽

Life Space ◽

Chi Square ◽

Daily Life Activities ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Momentary Assessment ◽

At Home

Abstract Background Previous research employing global positioning satellite (GPS) data and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has shown that greater aggregated time at home and less distance traveled (diminished life-space) were associated with poorer community functioning and with more severe negative symptoms in people with schizophrenia. Emotional experiences (e.g., pleasure or anxious avoidance) may reduce time spent outside of the home. We evaluated the associations between concurrent and time-lagged positive and negative affective experiences in relation to time at home and distance travelled in the community (life-space) among people with schizophrenia compared to healthy comparators (HCs). Methods Sixty HCs (mean age = 51.2, SD = 10.9) and 91 people with schizophrenia (mean age=52, SD=9), matched on demographic characteristics, completed in-lab assessments of symptoms, cognition, and functioning. They were then given a smartphone and completed EMA assessments 7 times daily for 7 days at stratified random intervals. EMA surveys included questions about daily life activities and affect. GPS coordinates were collected every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, over the 7-day study period. Results Participants with schizophrenia spent more time at home than HCs (t = -4.95, p < 0.001). Sadness and ratings of relaxation were not associated with distance traveled away or time spent at home. For HCs, happiness was associated with more distance traveled away as measured by GPS (B=6.85, SE= 3.04, Wald Chi-Square = 5.067, p=0.024). However, for people with schizophrenia, only greater nervousness ratings were associated with more distance from home (B=3.41, SE=1.30, Wald Chi-Square=6.88, p=0.009). Moreover, for people with schizophrenia, greater nervousness ratings were associated with more time spent at home (B=2.07, SE= 0.98, Wald Chi-Square=4.43, p=0.035), and greater nervousness also predicted that a person with schizophrenia would be at home at the next survey in lead analyses, (F(1, 3029)=7.533, p=0.006). Taken together, these results suggest both greater nervousness associated with greater distance away from home and anxious avoidance of leaving the home. Discussion For individuals with schizophrenia, greater overall anxiety was associated with reduced time spent out of the home, and when patients did leave the home, greater distance travelled was associated with greater nervousness. In contrast, HC participants experienced greater positive emotion with larger life-space. These data suggest a significant momentary temporal association of anxiety and behavior in schizophrenia, such that greater nervousness predicted an individual would be more likely to stay at home. These findings suggest avoidance of negative emotion may also contribute to diminished motivated behavior, which may even act as an emotion regulation strategy. Life-space, which can be measured readily over time by mobile devices, may be a novel target for rehabilitative interventions for anxious avoidance in schizophrenia.

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Reliability and repeatability of testing visual evoked potential habituation in migraine: A blinded case–control study

Cephalalgia ◽

10.1177/0333102416648656 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (5) ◽

pp. 418-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Anna Ambrosini ◽

Gianluca Coppola ◽

Ennio Iezzi ◽

Francesco Pierelli ◽

Jean Schoenen

Keyword(s):

Healthy Volunteers ◽

Visual Evoked Potentials ◽

Visual Evoked Potential ◽

Evoked Potential ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Episodic Migraine ◽

Case Control ◽

Highly Correlated ◽

Control Study ◽

Visual Evoked

Background Many studies have shown that migraine patients have an interictal habituation deficit of visual evoked potentials (VEPs). Some discordant results were attributed to non-blinded analyses and a lack of repeatability. Aims In this study, we compared blinded and non-blinded analyses of the same recordings and assessed test–retest repeatability. Methods VEP recordings of 25 healthy volunteers (HVs) and 78 episodic migraine patients (EMs; 52 interictal, 26 ictal) were analysed by two investigators, one of whom was blinded to diagnosis and headache phase. Twelve HVs and nine EMs had two recordings for test repeatability. Results In both blinded and non-blinded analyses, VEP habituation was normal in HVs and EMs during an attack, but deficient in EMs interictally. Intra-individual habituation percentages were highly correlated in two recordings separated by ≥7 days. Conclusions The studies showing a VEP habituation deficit in migraineurs between attacks are unlikely to be biased by non-blinding analysis or poor repeatability.

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Mental Health and Behavior During the Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mobile Smartphone and Ecological Momentary Assessment Study in College Students (Preprint)

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/20185 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Jeremy F Huckins ◽

Alex W DaSilva ◽

Weichen Wang ◽

Elin Hedlund ◽

Courtney Rogers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽

Assessment Study ◽

And Behavior ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Mobile Smartphone ◽

Momentary Assessment ◽

Early Phases

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Correlates of real-world goal-directed behavior in schizophrenia

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291721004281 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Jaisal T. Merchant ◽

Erin K. Moran ◽

Michael J. Strube ◽

Deanna M. Barch

Keyword(s):

Real World ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Functional Skills ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Clinical Interviews ◽

Motivated Behavior ◽

Targeted Treatments ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Goal Directed Behavior ◽

Momentary Assessment

Abstract Background Deficits in goal-directed behavior (i.e. behavior conducted to achieve a specific goal or outcome) are core to schizophrenia, difficult to treat, and associated with poor functional outcomes. Factors such as negative symptoms, effort-cost decision-making, cognition, and functional skills have all been associated with goal-directed behavior in schizophrenia as indexed by clinical interviews or laboratory-based tasks. However, little work has examined whether these factors relate to the real-world pursuit of goal-directed activities in this population. Methods This study aimed to fill this gap by using Ecological Momentary Assessment (four survey prompts per day for 1 week) to test hypotheses about symptom, effort allocation, cognitive, and functional measures associated with planned and completed goal-directed behavior in the daily lives of 63 individuals with schizophrenia. Results Individuals with schizophrenia completed more goal-directed activities than they planned [t(62) = −4.01, p < 0.001]. Motivation and pleasure (i.e. experiential) negative symptoms, controlling for depressive symptoms, negatively related to planned goal-directed behavior [odds ratio (OR) 0.92, p = 0.005]. Increased effort expenditure for high probability rewards (planned: OR 1.01, p = 0.034, completed: OR 1.01, p = 0.034) along with performance on a daily functional skills task (planned: OR 1.04, p = 0.002, completed: OR 1.03, p = 0.047) negatively related to both planned and completed goal-directed activity. Conclusions Our results present correlates of real-world goal-directed behavior that largely align with impaired ability to make future estimations in schizophrenia. This insight could help identify targeted treatments for the elusive motivated behavior deficits in this population.

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Are direct messages (texts and emails) from wagering operators associated with betting intention and behavior? An ecological momentary assessment study

Journal of Behavioral Addictions ◽

10.1556/2006.7.2018.99 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 1079-1090 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Alex M. T. Russell ◽

Nerilee Hing ◽

Matthew Browne ◽

Vijay Rawat

Keyword(s):

Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽

Assessment Study ◽

And Behavior ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Momentary Assessment

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Youth Psychopathology in Daily Life: Systematically Reviewed Characteristics and Potentials of Ecological Momentary Assessment Applications

Child Psychiatry & Human Development ◽

10.1007/s10578-021-01177-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Marjolein R. Thunnissen ◽

Marije aan het Rot ◽

Barbara J. van den Hoofdakker ◽

Maaike H. Nauta

Keyword(s):

Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽

Clinical Samples ◽

Future Research ◽

Daily Lives ◽

Clinical Interviews ◽

And Behavior ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Momentary Assessment ◽

Predict Treatment Response ◽

Over Time

AbstractTraditionally, symptoms of youth psychopathology are assessed with questionnaires, clinical interviews, or laboratory observations. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) could be a particularly valuable additional methodology, since EMA enables examining the daily lives of youths near real-time, considering fluctuations and specific contexts of symptoms. This systematic review aimed to review the characteristics of current EMA applications and to provide a synthesis of their potential in studying youth psychopathology. Following a systematic search in PsycInfo and Medline, we identified 50 studies in clinical samples. Most studies used EMA to examine fluctuations in symptoms, affect, and behavior, and the relation with contextual factors. EMA was also used to investigate interactions between parents and their children over time, and to monitor and predict treatment response. EMA appeared feasible in youth and could provide valuable insights that contribute to understanding youth psychopathology. Benefits, gaps, and suggestions for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

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Socio-Motor Improvisation in Schizophrenia: A Case-Control Study in a Sample of Stable Patients

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnhum.2021.676242 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Robin N. Salesse ◽

Jean-François Casties ◽

Delphine Capdevielle ◽

Stéphane Raffard

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Direct Evidence ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Clinical Context ◽

Shared Attention ◽

Key Factor ◽

And Behavior ◽

Two Sides ◽

Control Study

Improvising is essential for human development and is one of the most important characteristics of being human. However, how mental illness affects improvisation remains largely unknown. In this study we focused on socio-motor improvisation in individuals with schizophrenia, one of the more debilitating mental disorder. This represents the ability to improvise gestures during an interaction to promote sustained communication and shared attention. Using a novel paradigm called the mirror game and recently introduced to study joint improvisation, we recorded hand motions of two people mirroring each other. Comparing Schizophrenia patients and healthy controls skills during the game, we found that improvisation was impaired in schizophrenia patients. Patients also exhibited significantly higher difficulties to being synchronized with someone they follow but not when they were leaders of the joint improvisation game. Considering the correlation between socio-motor synchronization and socio-motor improvisation, these results suggest that synchronization does not only promote affiliation but also improvisation, being therefore an interesting key factor to enhance social skills in a clinical context. Moreover, socio-motor improvisation abnormalities were not associated with executive functioning, one traditional underpinning of improvisation. Altogether, our results suggest that even if both mental illness and improvisation differ from normal thinking and behavior, they are not two sides of the same coin, providing a direct evidence that being able to improvise in individual situations is fundamentally different than being able to improvise in a social context.

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