Traumatic Brain InjuriesNCT07867119
Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia in Acute Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
A study testing Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia and Active Comparator #1 in people with Traumatic Brain Injuries, run by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study will investigate whether viewing and identifying meaningful shapes or images hidden within nature pictures (pareidolia) can improve motivation and engagement in rehabilitation therapy for adults with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 80 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- What is being tested?
- Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia and Active Comparator #1
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 50 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 10 Oct 2026to 24 Aug 2029
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 80 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Diagnosis of mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on hospital chart review.
- Age 18 to 80 years. Premorbidly fluent in English. Education level greater than 8th grade. Corrected visual acuity of at least 20/40.
- -
Who cannot join
- Other neurological disorders affecting cognition or language, active substance use, epilepsy, history of psychosis or schizophrenia, hemianopia, severe spatial neglect, isolation precautions, severe visual impairment.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Brook Boxrud contact
About this study
This study will investigate whether viewing and identifying meaningful shapes or images hidden within nature pictures (pareidolia) can improve motivation and engagement in rehabilitation therapy for adults with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants will be randomly assigned to either a pareidolia-based activity group or a control group and will complete therapy sessions and assessments over approximately three weeks. The findings may help identify a simple, low-risk approach to enhancing rehabilitation participation after TBI
Read the detailed description
This study examines whether pareidolia, the experience of seeing meaningful images or patterns in ambiguous visual stimuli (such as faces in clouds), can improve motivation and engagement during rehabilitation therapy for adults with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Approximately 50 participants receiving inpatient rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab will be randomly assigned to either a pareidolia intervention group, which will participate in a guided scavenger hunt using nature images containing hidden pareidolic patterns, or a control group that will view similar nature images without searching for hidden shapes. Over a 3-week period, participants will complete 4 to 6 intervention sessions along with pre- and post-study assessments measuring motivation, therapy engagement, mood, anxiety, apathy, and, in some cases, eye-movement patterns. The study involves minimal risk, primarily mild fatigue or frustration during activities, and while participants may not directly benefit, the findings may help identify a simple, low-risk approach to enhancing participation and engagement in rehabilitation therapy for individuals recovering from TBI.
- Conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Being tested
- Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia, Active Comparator #1
- Keywords
- TBI, Depression, Mood, Engagement, Anxiety, Pareidolia
- Medical subject headings
- Brain Injuries, Traumatic, Depression, Anxiety Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Therapeutic Benefits of PareidoliaBehavioural
A clinician-guided pareidolia intervention in which participants identify and describe meaningful shapes or images embedded within nature-based visual stimuli during structured rehabilitation sessions. The activity is delivered as a progressive scavenger hunt with varying levels of image difficulty.
Active Comparator #1Behavioural
Participants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to identify hidden shapes or patterns.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Structured pareidolia-based therapeutic activity. | Experimental | Participants complete a structured pareidolia scavenger hunt involving identification of hidden images and shapes within nature-based pictures during rehabilitation sessions. Receives: Behavioral: Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia |
| Nature-image viewing activity without pareidolia exposure. | Active comparator | Participants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to search for hidden shapes. Receives: Behavioral: Active Comparator #1 |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in Therapy Engagement
Therapy Engagement and Motivation as measured by the Rehabilitation Therapy Engagement Scale (RTES)
Measured: 4 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted9 Oct 2026
- Study start10 Oct 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion24 Aug 2029 (estimated)
- Study completion24 Aug 2029 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Traumatic Brain InjuriesStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Shirley Ryan AbilityLabThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07867119
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STU00225776
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 5 Oct 2026
- Last updated
- 9 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided: We have not decided in what format to share the data and whether to share summary or individual data.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia in Acute Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07867119
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- STU00225776
- Conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Keywords
- TBI, Depression, Mood, Engagement, Anxiety, Pareidolia
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLabUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 10 Oct 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 24 Aug 2029 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 24 Aug 2029 (estimated)
- First posted
- 9 Oct 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will investigate whether viewing and identifying meaningful shapes or images hidden within nature pictures (pareidolia) can improve motivation and engagement in rehabilitation therapy for adults with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants will be randomly assigned to either a pareidolia-based activity group or a control group and will complete therapy sessions and assessments over approximately three weeks. The findings may help identify a simple, low-risk approach to enhancing rehabilitation participation after TBI
Detailed description
This study examines whether pareidolia, the experience of seeing meaningful images or patterns in ambiguous visual stimuli (such as faces in clouds), can improve motivation and engagement during rehabilitation therapy for adults with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). Approximately 50 participants receiving inpatient rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab will be randomly assigned to either a pareidolia intervention group, which will participate in a guided scavenger hunt using nature images containing hidden pareidolic patterns, or a control group that will view similar nature images without searching for hidden shapes. Over a 3-week period, participants will complete 4 to 6 intervention sessions along with pre- and post-study assessments measuring motivation, therapy engagement, mood, anxiety, apathy, and, in some cases, eye-movement patterns. The study involves minimal risk, primarily mild fatigue or frustration during activities, and while participants may not directly benefit, the findings may help identify a simple, low-risk approach to enhancing participation and engagement in rehabilitation therapy for individuals recovering from TBI.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Structured pareidolia-based therapeutic activity. | Experimental | Behavioral: Therapeutic Benefits of PareidoliaParticipants complete a structured pareidolia scavenger hunt involving identification of hidden images and shapes within nature-based pictures during rehabilitation sessions. |
| Nature-image viewing activity without pareidolia exposure. | Active comparator | Behavioral: Active Comparator #1Participants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to search for hidden shapes. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 80 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Diagnosis of mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on hospital chart review.
- Age 18 to 80 years. Premorbidly fluent in English. Education level greater than 8th grade. Corrected visual acuity of at least 20/40.
- -
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Other neurological disorders affecting cognition or language, active substance use, epilepsy, history of psychosis or schizophrenia, hemianopia, severe spatial neglect, isolation precautions, severe visual impairment.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Therapeutic Benefits of PareidoliaA clinician-guided pareidolia intervention in which participants identify and describe meaningful shapes or images embedded within nature-based visual stimuli during structured rehabilitation sessions. The activity is delivered as a progressive scavenger hunt with varying levels of image difficulty. | Behavioural | Structured pareidolia-based therapeutic activity. |
| Active Comparator #1Participants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to identify hidden shapes or patterns. | Behavioural | Nature-image viewing activity without pareidolia exposure. |
Primary outcome
Change in Therapy Engagement
Time frame: 4 weeks
Therapy Engagement and Motivation as measured by the Rehabilitation Therapy Engagement Scale (RTES)
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided. We have not decided in what format to share the data and whether to share summary or individual data.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Brook Boxrud contact
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia and Active Comparator #1 in people with Traumatic Brain Injuries, run by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Sameer A Ashaie, PhD (3122386154, sashaie@sralab.org), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Change in Therapy Engagement (time frame: 4 weeks). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 Oct 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.