McPsyt Lab
Ongoing Research
Randomized Pilot Trial: Ecological Momentary Interventions for Emotion Regulation Across Psychiatric Diagnoses (EMI-ER)
The Ecological Momentary Interventions for Emotion Regulation (EMI-ER) study is a randomized pilot trial examining whether brief, smartphone-based interventions can help people with a range of psychiatric diagnoses regulate their emotions in everyday life. Participants receive evidence-informed strategies—such as breathing exercises, cognitive reappraisal, and written reflection—designed to support different aspects of emotional processing. The study combines these real-time interventions with digital phenotyping, using smartphone and wearable data to examine changes in sleep, physical activity, heart rate and heart-rate variability, mobility, phone use, and other behavioural and physiological indicators. By comparing periods when participants receive interventions with periods when they do not, the project aims to evaluate the feasibility of this approach and explore whether improvements in emotion regulation can be detected both through self-report and objective, real-world measures.
Project Leads: Tihare Zamorano, MSc., Mariza Markessinis, MA.
Affective CH: Investigating Emotional Responses
Affective CH investigates how negative and positive affective states influence the formation of conditioned hallucinations through maladaptive prior beliefs in individuals at clinical high risk or experiencing early psychosis. Using a modified version of the Conditioned Hallucinations (CH) task—which pairs auditory stimuli (positive, neutral, or negative words) with visual cues—the study introduces affective manipulations such as the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST) or emotionally valenced audiovisual stimuli to examine changes in prior weighting and hallucination rates.
Project Leads: Timothy Friesen, BSc., Deven Parekh, MSc.
Personalized Accelerated Neuromodulation for Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
This multi-site study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, CERVO, and IUSMM, investigates a personalized accelerated neuromodulation treatment for negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Using advanced imaging and high-dose transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we aim to enhance motivation, social engagement, and cognitive function. This randomized, sham-controlled trial will assess both the efficacy and feasibility of this innovative treatment approach, with the goal of improving outcomes for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Project Lead: Ashley Choucroun, PhD Candidate
Contact: ashley.choucroun.comtl@ssss.gouv.qc.ca
Co PI: Lena Palaniyappan MD, PhD, Olivier Roy, MD, Stéphane Potvin
Accelerated Neuromodulation Therapy and Neurocomputational Biomarkers in Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: A Pilot Study
The TMS-CHR study investigates whether accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can influence brain- and behaviour-based biomarkers in young people at clinical high risk for psychosis. Using a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot design, the study evaluates the safety, feasibility, and treatment effects of this accelerated protocol, with the long-term goal of developing a low-risk intervention that could help delay or prevent the onset of psychosis.
Project Lead: Ashley Choucroun, PhD Candidate, Tihare Zamorano, MSc.
Gamespace
Gamespace is a modular, narrative-driven video game designed to assess and monitor cognitive functioning in individuals with psychiatric conditions, particularly psychosis. Developed in collaboration with computer scientists, the project embeds validated computational tasks within an open-world environment to improve ecological validity and engagement. Gamespace is designed to support remote monitoring, relapse prevention, and research in computational psychiatry.
Project Leads: David Benrimoh, M.D., M.Sc., M.Sc., FRCPC, Albert Powers, M.D., Ph.D, Jérôme Waldispühl
Ashley Choucroun, MSc