An interventional study of Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia and Active Comparator #1 in Traumatic Brain Injuries, sponsored by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-09.
Sponsored by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
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
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.
1,775 studies on the registry are indexed under Brain Injuries, Traumatic; 448 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 50 is below the median of 56 across 1,133 interventional studies indexed under Brain Injuries, Traumatic.
Browse Brain Injuries, Traumatic studies →Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the lead sponsor of 179 studies on the registry; 45 are open to participants now.
Of its 10 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (40%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
-
Exclusion Criteria:
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.
Participants complete a structured pareidolia scavenger hunt involving identification of hidden images and shapes within nature-based pictures during rehabilitation sessions.
Behavioral: Therapeutic Benefits of Pareidolia
Participants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to search for hidden shapes.
Behavioral: Active Comparator #1
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.
Participants complete a comparable walking and nature-image viewing activity without pareidolic images or instructions to identify hidden shapes or patterns.
Change in Therapy Engagement
Therapy Engagement and Motivation as measured by the Rehabilitation Therapy Engagement Scale (RTES)
Time frame: 4 weeks
Plan to share: Undecided — We have not decided in what format to share the data and whether to share summary or individual data.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab