Feeling paranoid or that you are being persecuted is a symptom that does not respond well to current treatments. It is usually measured with questionnaires, however, we have developed a game which can be used to measure paranoia. This funding will allow us to test brain mechanisms across different groups and also test the shift into paranoid states that occurs after some drug use. Our work will lay a foundation for innovative treatments and support options for those suffering from severe paranoia"
Professor Mitul Mehta
17 February 2025
£1.4 million awarded to study how brain experiences paranoia
The project "Bridging the Neurocomputational Explanations of Paranoia: From Cognition to Clinic" received the Wellcome Trust grant to apply neuroscience to study the experience of paranoia
A team led by Professor Mitul Mehta, Professor of Neuroimaging and Psychopharmacology at the IoPPN, has received a £1.4 million Wellcome Trust Mental Health Award to apply neuroscience to study paranoia as a symptom experienced across different mental health conditions.
Paranoia is a persistent and distressing symptom that involves fear and belief that others intend harm. This persecutory delusion significantly impacts individuals' lives, causing distress and isolation. Yet, science has often overlooked how the brain encodes social interaction, critical to understanding paranoia. This knowledge gap limits the development of effective therapies that can directly address patient concerns.
The project "Bridging the Neurocomputational Explanations of Paranoia: From Cognition to Clinic" aims to decode how the brain maps social interactions using neuroimaging, mathematical modelling, and artificial intelligence. The multidisciplinary team includes Dr Amir Englund (King's), Dr Joseph Barnby (Royal Holloway University London), Michael Moutoussis (University College London) and Syeda Tahir (Lived Experience Expert).
The project will study how healthy participants experience temporary, reversible paranoia induced by THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), the intoxicating component in cannabis. The findings will be compared to data from individuals with lived experience who are receiving clinical support for persecutory delusions.
Researchers will look at neural, computational, social and behavioural mechanisms to explain the mechanisms underlying paranoia. This work will pave the way for the development of precise novel treatments for psychosis-spectrum and substance-use disorders.
The Wellcome Mental Health Award: applying neuroscience to understand symptoms in anxiety, depression and psychosis funds innovative projects combining computational and experimental neuroscience approaches to improve understanding of symptoms of anxiety, depression and psychosis.
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