Swinburne leads global effort to create new therapies for psychosis

Swinburne University of Technology is part of a global team working to treat psychosis via new therapies targeting disorganisation in a world-first approach. 

Psychosis effects three percent of Australians – around 750,000 people – across their lifespan. During these episodes, those impacted experience confusion, hallucinations and difficulties thinking clearly. 

Chief Investigator Swinburne cognitive neuropsychologist Professor Susan Rossell says disorganisation is a common symptom in psychosis. 

“Both clinicians and patients are acutely aware of the negative impacts that disorganisation has on day-to-day interactions, with patients having difficulties communicating with other people. This is very detrimental for relationships and success in employment.”  

Swinburne is the only Australian institution part of the new $10.6 million DIALOG initiative. Co-conceived with lived-experience experts, they will determine the neurobiological underpinnings of disorganisation by focusing on patients' everyday language rather than traditional clinical ratings. 

Using Swinburne’s leading MEG, MRI and EEG equipment in combination with Large Language Models (LLM) to establish the role of imprecise processing in disorganisation, Professor Rossell will develop a patient-benefit roadmap, which will include speech-based markers that can be used in clinical trials and new treatments. 

Professor Rossell will spend the next five years combining neuroimaging and natural language to provide new hope to people suffering these debilitating symptoms. 

“I am really hoping the work that we do will allow us to understand the best pathways forward to treat this devastating symptom. We need to make a difference, given the unmet need for treatment.”