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Killebrew KW, Moser HR, Grant AN, Marjańska M, Sponheim SR, Schallmo MP. Faster bi-stable visual switching in psychosis. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:201. [PMID: 38714650 PMCID: PMC11076514 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02913-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Bi-stable stimuli evoke two distinct perceptual interpretations that alternate and compete for dominance. Bi-stable perception is thought to be driven at least in part by mutual suppression between distinct neural populations that represent each percept. Abnormal visual perception has been observed among people with psychotic psychopathology (PwPP), and there is evidence to suggest that these visual deficits may depend on impaired neural suppression in the visual cortex. However, it is not yet clear whether bi-stable visual perception is abnormal among PwPP. Here, we examined bi-stable perception in a visual structure-from-motion task using a rotating cylinder illusion in a group of 65 PwPP, 44 first-degree biological relatives, and 43 healthy controls. Data from a 'real switch' task, in which physical depth cues signaled real switches in rotation direction were used to exclude individuals who did not show adequate task performance. In addition, we measured concentrations of neurochemicals, including glutamate, glutamine, and γ-amino butyric acid (GABA), involved in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. These neurochemicals were measured non-invasively in the visual cortex using 7 tesla MR spectroscopy. We found that PwPP and their relatives showed faster bi-stable switch rates than healthy controls. Faster switch rates also correlated with significantly higher psychiatric symptom levels, specifically disorganization, across all participants. However, we did not observe any significant relationships across individuals between neurochemical concentrations and SFM switch rates. Our results are consistent with a reduction in suppressive neural processes during structure-from-motion perception in PwPP, and suggest that genetic liability for psychosis is associated with disrupted bi-stable perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle W Killebrew
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Hannah R Moser
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Andrea N Grant
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Małgorzata Marjańska
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Scott R Sponheim
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Michael-Paul Schallmo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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2
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Giersch A, Huard T, Park S, Rosen C. The Strasbourg Visual Scale: A Novel Method to Assess Visual Hallucinations. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:685018. [PMID: 34177666 PMCID: PMC8219930 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.685018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The experience of oneself in the world is based on sensory afferences, enabling us to reach a first-perspective perception of our environment and to differentiate oneself from the world. Visual hallucinations may arise from a difficulty in differentiating one's own mental imagery from externally-induced perceptions. To specify the relationship between hallucinations and the disorders of the self, we need to understand the mechanisms of hallucinations. However, visual hallucinations are often under reported in individuals with psychosis, who sometimes appear to experience difficulties describing them. We developed the "Strasbourg Visual Scale (SVS)," a novel computerized tool that allows us to explore and capture the subjective experience of visual hallucinations by circumventing the difficulties associated with verbal descriptions. This scale reconstructs the hallucinated image of the participants by presenting distinct physical properties of visual information, step-by-step to help them communicate their internal experience. The strategy that underlies the SVS is to present a sequence of images to the participants whose choice at each step provides a feedback toward re-creating the internal image held by them. The SVS displays simple images on a computer screen that provide choices for the participants. Each step focuses on one physical property of an image, and the successive choices made by the participants help them to progressively build an image close to his/her hallucination, similar to the tools commonly used to generate facial composites. The SVS was constructed based on our knowledge of the visual pathways leading to an integrated perception of our environment. We discuss the rationale for the successive steps of the scale, and to which extent it could complement existing scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Giersch
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM U1114, Strasbourg, France.,Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Thomas Huard
- University of Strasbourg, INSERM U1114, Strasbourg, France
| | - Sohee Park
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Cherise Rosen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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da Cruz JR, Shaqiri A, Roinishvili M, Favrod O, Chkonia E, Brand A, Figueiredo P, Herzog MH. Neural Compensation Mechanisms of Siblings of Schizophrenia Patients as Revealed by High-Density EEG. Schizophr Bull 2020; 46:1009-1018. [PMID: 31961928 PMCID: PMC7345810 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbz133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Visual backward masking (VBM) deficits are candidate endophenotypes of schizophrenia indexing genetic liability of the disorder. In VBM, a target is followed by a mask that deteriorates target perception. Schizophrenia patients and, to a lesser extent, their unaffected relatives show strong and reproducible VBM deficits. In patients, VBM deficits are associated with strongly decreased amplitudes in the evoked-related potentials (ERPs). Here, to unveil the neural mechanisms of VBM in schizophrenia, circumventing illness-specific confounds, we investigated the electroencephalogram correlates of VBM in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients. We tested 110 schizophrenia patients, 60 siblings, and 83 healthy controls. As in previous studies, patients showed strong behavioral deficits and decreased ERP amplitudes compared to controls. Surprisingly, the ERP amplitudes of siblings were even higher than the ones of controls, while their performances were similar. ERP amplitudes in siblings were found to correlate with performance. These results suggest that VBM is deteriorated in patients and siblings. However, siblings, unlike patients, can partially compensate for the deficits by over-activating a network of brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janir R da Cruz
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland,Institute for Systems and Robotics – Lisbon (LARSyS) and Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal,To whom correspondence should be addressed; CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; tel: +41 21 693 17 42, fax: +41 21 693 1749, e-mail:
| | - Albulena Shaqiri
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Maya Roinishvili
- Laboratory of Vision Physiology, Beritashvili Centre of Experimental Biomedicine, Tbilisi, Georgia,Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences, Free University of Tbilisi, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Ophélie Favrod
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Eka Chkonia
- Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences, Free University of Tbilisi, Tbilisi, Georgia,Department of Psychiatry, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Andreas Brand
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patrícia Figueiredo
- Institute for Systems and Robotics – Lisbon (LARSyS) and Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Michael H Herzog
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Abstract
Objectives: The present study evaluated early visual processing, in terms of the contrast sensitivity function (CSF), in bipolar disorder (BPD) patients.Methods: Data were recorded in 17 healthy participants and 17 outpatients with type 1 BPD, from 20 to 45 years of age. The CSF was measured at spatial frequencies of 0.2, 0.6, 3.1, 8.0, 16.0 and 20.0 cycles per degree (cpd) using Gabor patches and a two-alternative, forced-choice, logarithmic staircase method. The groups were matched for gender, age and level of education.Results: The CSF differed between groups. Patients with BPD had lower discrimination at spatial frequencies of 0.2 cpd (P < 0.001), 0.6 cpd (P < 0.001), 16.0 cpd (P < 0.001) and 20.0 cpd (P < 0.001) compared with healthy subjects. No differences were observed at 3.1 cpd (P > 0.05) and 8.0 cpd (P > 0.05). This visual impairment was related both to longer duration of illness and to greater severity of manic symptoms.Conclusions: The differences in visual processing were pronounced in patients with BPD, which justifies further investigations of the pathophysiological mechanisms that are involved in sensorial alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thiago P Fernandes
- Department of Psychology, Perception, Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Steven M Silverstein
- Department of Psychiatry Division of Schizophrenia Research, Rutgers University Behavioural Health Care, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Natalia L Almeida
- Department of Psychology, Perception, Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Natanael A Santos
- Department of Psychology, Perception, Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
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Kunchulia M, Kotaria N, Pilz K, Kotorashvili A, Herzog MH. Associations between genetic variations and global motion perception. Exp Brain Res 2019; 237:2729-2734. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05627-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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Fernandes TP, Silverstein SM, Almeida NL, Santos NA. Visual impairments in tobacco use disorder. Psychiatry Res 2019; 271:60-67. [PMID: 30469090 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Prior studies found small effects of chronic smoking on spatial and color vision, but they were inconclusive. This study tries to: (1) replicate and extend these previous findings, and (2) rule in that this relationship is pronounced by tobacco addiction. Data were recorded in 71 healthy controls (M = 33.5 years; SD = 5.4 years) and 63 individuals with tobacco addiction (M = 34.7 years; SD = 4.8 years). Visual processing was assessed in the forms of contrast sensitivity for linear sine-wave gratings (spatial frequencies ranging between 0.2 and 16 cycles per degree) and color discrimination (using the Ellipse and Trivector subtests). The groups were matched for age, gender and level of education. The group with heavy smokers had reduced sensitivity for all spatial frequencies (p < .001), and impairments in color discrimination for both Trivector (all p-values < .001 for Protan, Deutan and Tritan) and Ellipse (all p-values < .001). This study consistently replicates and extended previous findings, and showed that visual processing can be strongly associated with tobacco addiction. These results indicate that excessive use of cigarettes, or chronic exposure to their compounds, affects visual discrimination, supporting the existence of overall deficits in visual processing in tobacco addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Natalia L Almeida
- Perception, Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Natanael A Santos
- Perception, Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory, Joao Pessoa, Brazil
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Berkovitch L, Del Cul A, Maheu M, Dehaene S. Impaired conscious access and abnormal attentional amplification in schizophrenia. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 18:835-848. [PMID: 29876269 PMCID: PMC5988039 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2017] [Revised: 03/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Previous research suggests that the conscious perception of a masked stimulus is impaired in schizophrenia, while unconscious bottom-up processing of the same stimulus, as assessed by subliminal priming, can be preserved. Here, we test this postulated dissociation between intact bottom-up and impaired top-down processing and evaluate its brain mechanisms using high-density recordings of event-related potentials. Sixteen patients with schizophrenia and sixteen controls were exposed to peripheral digits with various degrees of visibility, under conditions of either focused attention or distraction by another task. In the distraction condition, the brain activity evoked by masked digits was drastically reduced in both groups, but early bottom-up visual activation could still be detected and did not differ between patients and controls. By contrast, under focused top-down attention, a major impairment was observed: in patients, contrary to controls, the late non-linear ignition associated with the P3 component was reduced. Interestingly, the patients showed an essentially normal attentional amplification of the P1 and N2 components. These results suggest that some but not all top-down attentional amplification processes are impaired in schizophrenia, while bottom-up processing seems to be preserved. An elevated consciousness threshold is observed in schizophrenia. Under unattended conditions, brain activity was similarly reduced in schizophrenic patients and controls. Under attended conditions, the late ignition associated with the P3 component is impaired in patients. In schizophrenia, top-down attentional amplification is abnormal while bottom-up processing is essentially spared.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Berkovitch
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DSV/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, IFD, 4 place Jussieu, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
| | - A Del Cul
- AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Service de Psychiatrie d'Adultes, 75013 Paris, France; Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle (ICM), Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, 75013 Paris, France
| | - M Maheu
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DSV/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 75006 Paris, France
| | - S Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA DSV/I2BM, INSERM, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Collège de France, 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France
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Fernandes TMP, de Andrade MJO, Santana JB, Nogueira RMTBL, dos Santos NA. Tobacco Use Decreases Visual Sensitivity in Schizophrenia. Front Psychol 2018; 9:288. [PMID: 29559947 PMCID: PMC5845747 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Smoking prevalence in patients who are diagnosed with schizophrenia (SCZ) is higher than in the general population. Chronic tobacco use in SCZ patients may reduce the side effects of antipsychotic drugs, thus serving as a self-medication for such side effects. Understanding the ways in which chronic tobacco use influences visual sensitivity has clinical implications, which may serve as a tool for non-invasively diagnosing early-stage visual processing deficits. The present study evaluated the effects of chronic tobacco use on visual sensitivity in SCZ patients. Our purpose was to provide new directions for future research, mainly psychophysical and electrophysiological studies. In the present study, 40 smoker controls (SC), 20 SCZ tobacco users, and 20 SCZ tobacco nonusers were recruited from the Psychosocial Care Center. Visual sensitivity was compared between both SCZ groups and the SC group. Patients with SCZ who were chronic tobacco users presented lower visual sensitivity for chromatic (p < 0.001) and achromatic (p < 0.001) stimuli compared with the other groups. Our findings highlight the need to evaluate possible addictive behavior in patients with SCZ, which may contribute to public policies that seek to improve the quality of life of SCZ patients and their families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thiago M. P. Fernandes
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- Perception, Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Michael J. Oliveira de Andrade
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- Perception, Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Jessica B. Santana
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- Perception, Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | | | - Natanael A. dos Santos
- Department of Psychology, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
- Perception, Neuroscience and Behavior Laboratory, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Brazil
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Silverstein SM, Demmin DL, Bednar JA. Computational Modeling of Contrast Sensitivity and Orientation Tuning in First-Episode and Chronic Schizophrenia. COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2017; 1:102-131. [PMID: 30090855 PMCID: PMC6067832 DOI: 10.1162/cpsy_a_00005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Computational modeling is a useful method for generating hypotheses about the contributions of impaired neurobiological mechanisms, and their interactions, to psychopathology. Modeling is being increasingly used to further our understanding of schizophrenia, but to date, it has not been applied to questions regarding the common perceptual disturbances in the disorder. In this article, we model aspects of low-level visual processing and demonstrate how this can lead to testable hypotheses about both the nature of visual abnormalities in schizophrenia and the relationships between the mechanisms underlying these disturbances and psychotic symptoms. Using a model that incorporates retinal, lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), and V1 activity, as well as gain control in the LGN, homeostatic adaptation in V1, lateral excitation and inhibition in V1, and self-organization of synaptic weights based on Hebbian learning and divisive normalization, we show that (a) prior data indicating increased contrast sensitivity for low-spatial-frequency stimuli in first-episode schizophrenia can be successfully modeled as a function of reduced retinal and LGN efferent activity, leading to overamplification at the cortical level, and (b) prior data on reduced contrast sensitivity and broadened orientation tuning in chronic schizophrenia can be successfully modeled by a combination of reduced V1 lateral inhibition and an increase in the Hebbian learning rate at V1 synapses for LGN input. These models are consistent with many current findings, and they predict several relationships that have not yet been demonstrated. They also have implications for understanding changes in brain and visual function from the first psychotic episode to the chronic stage of illness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven M. Silverstein
- Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Docia L. Demmin
- Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - James A. Bednar
- School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland
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Berkovitch L, Dehaene S, Gaillard R. Disruption of Conscious Access in Schizophrenia. Trends Cogn Sci 2017; 21:878-892. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Silverstein SM. Visual Perception Disturbances in Schizophrenia: A Unified Model. NEBRASKA SYMPOSIUM ON MOTIVATION. NEBRASKA SYMPOSIUM ON MOTIVATION 2016; 63:77-132. [PMID: 27627825 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-30596-7_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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