1
|
Fan Y, Tao Y, Wang J, Gao Y, Wei W, Zheng C, Zhang X, Song XM, Northoff G. Irregularity of visual motion perception and negative symptoms in schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 10:82. [PMID: 39349502 PMCID: PMC11443095 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-024-00496-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 08/20/2024] [Indexed: 10/02/2024]
Abstract
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by perceptual, emotional, and behavioral abnormalities, with cognitive impairment being a prominent feature of the disorder. Recent studies demonstrate irregularity in SZ with increased variability on the neural level. Is there also irregularity on the psychophysics level like in visual perception? Here, we introduce a methodology to analyze the irregularity in a trial-by-trial way to compare the SZ and healthy control (HC) subjects. In addition, we use an unsupervised clustering algorithm K-means + + to identify SZ subgroups in the sample, followed by validation of the subgroups based on intraindividual visual perception variability and clinical symptomatology. The K-means + + method divided SZ patients into two subgroups by measuring durations across trials in the motion discrimination task, i.e., high, and low irregularity of SZ patients (HSZ, LSZ). We found that HSZ and LSZ subgroups are associated with more negative and positive symptoms respectively. Applying a mediation model in the HSZ subgroup, the enhanced irregularity mediates the relationship between visual perception and negative symptoms. Together, we demonstrate increased irregularity in visual perception of a HSZ subgroup, including its association with negative symptoms. This may serve as a promising marker for identifying and distinguishing SZ subgroups.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Fan
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yunhai Tao
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jue Wang
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Wei
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chanying Zheng
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaotong Zhang
- MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science & Brain-Machine Integration, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xue Mei Song
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
- Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Qiushi Academy for Advanced Studies, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Georg Northoff
- Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
- University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Barnes-Scheufler CV, Rösler L, Schaum M, Schiweck C, Peters B, Mayer JS, Reif A, Wibral M, Bittner RA. External cues improve visual working memory encoding in the presence of salient distractors in schizophrenia. Psychol Med 2024; 54:1965-1974. [PMID: 38436135 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291724000059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND People with schizophrenia (PSZ) are impaired in attentional prioritization of non-salient but relevant stimuli over salient distractors during visual working memory (VWM) encoding. Conversely, guidance of top-down attention by external predictive cues is intact. Yet, it is unknown whether this preserved ability can help PSZ encode more information in the presence of salient distractors. METHODS We employed a visuospatial change-detection task using four Gabor patches with differing orientations in 66 PSZ and 74 healthy controls (HCS). Two Gabor patches flickered which were designated either as targets or distractors and either a predictive or a non-predictive cue was displayed to manipulate top-down attention, resulting in four conditions. RESULTS We observed significant effects of group, salience and cue as well as significant interactions of salience by cue, group by salience and group by cue. Across all conditions, PSZ stored significantly less information in VWM than HCS. PSZ stored significantly less non-flickering than flickering information with a non-predictive cue. However, PSZ stored significantly more flickering and non-flickering information with a predictive cue. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that control of attentional selection is impaired in schizophrenia. We demonstrate that additional top-down information significantly improves performance in PSZ. The observed deficit in attentional control suggests a disturbance of GABAergic inhibition in early visual areas. Moreover, our findings are indicative of a mechanism for enhancing attentional control in PSZ, which could be utilized by pro-cognitive interventions. Thus, the current paradigm is suitable to reveal both preserved and compromised cognitive component processes in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine V Barnes-Scheufler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Lara Rösler
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Schaum
- Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, Mainz, Germany
| | - Carmen Schiweck
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Benjamin Peters
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jutta S Mayer
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Andreas Reif
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Michael Wibral
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robert A Bittner
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Moat K, Wallis G, McAnally K, Grove P, Horvath A. Schizotypy and perceptual span in a non-clinical sample: a virtual reality study. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2024; 29:103-115. [PMID: 38319062 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2024.2313470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Individuals with high schizotypy or schizophrenia exhibit difficulties in distributing their attention across space, leading to a reduction in their "perceptual span" - the extent of visual space that can be attended to at once. In this study, we aim to explore the correlation between schizotypy and perceptual span in a non-clinical sample to investigate whether perceptual span correlates with schizotypy across its range. METHODS Schizotypy was assessed in fifty-five participants using the Schizotypy Personality Questionnaire (SPQ; Raine, 1991). Participants were required to attend to two dynamic targets displayed in a head-mounted virtual reality display. Perceptual span was estimated as the lateral angle of separation between the two targets beyond which performance in the task dropped to threshold. RESULTS Participants with higher schizotypy scores performed significantly worse on the task. Of all the factors associated with schizotypy, the shared variance between Disorganisation and Cognitive/Perceptual Factors was most predictive of task performance. CONCLUSION The results support the hypothesis that schizotypy predicts perceptual span in non-clinical samples. Furthermore, the demonstration of a reduced perceptual span in individuals with higher trait schizotypy shows that variations in an individual's capacity to divide attention across space can be accurately captured using a virtual reality head-mounted display.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlin Moat
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Guy Wallis
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Ken McAnally
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Phil Grove
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Agnes Horvath
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Reavis EA, Wynn JK, Green MF. The flickering spotlight of visual attention: Characterizing abnormal object-based attention in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2022; 248:151-157. [PMID: 36063606 PMCID: PMC10362949 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.08.020] [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: 11/12/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is associated with deficits in both object perception and visual attention. However, few studies in schizophrenia have investigated object-based attention, which is dissociable from other forms of visuospatial attention. Recent research in healthy populations has shown that the 'spotlight' of sustained visual attention flickers in a rhythmic, oscillatory fashion at specific frequencies in the 4-12 Hz range. In healthy samples, this oscillatory signature has been used to investigate spatiotemporal dynamics of object-based attention, showing that the attentional spotlight spreads to uncued locations within cued objects, and also periodically alternates focus between cued and uncued objects. In this study, we adapted a performance-based visual object cueing task to investigate object-based attention in individuals with a schizophrenia diagnosis and healthy controls. In controls, spatiotemporal patterns of object-based attention closely resembled those reported in previous studies of healthy individuals. In the schizophrenia group, the oscillatory signature of attention also appeared in the location of the cue and on uncued objects, similar to the effects in controls. Indeed, the oscillatory signature of attention at the spatial location of the cue was stronger in the schizophrenia group than in controls. However, attention did not spread across the cued object in schizophrenia; rather, attention appeared to remain hyperfocused at the spatial location of the cue. These findings provide the first evidence that visual attention has oscillatory characteristics in schizophrenia, as in the general population. The results also show that the fundamental process of attentional spreading which underlies object-based attention is abnormal in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eric A Reavis
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America; VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, United States of America.
| | - Jonathan K Wynn
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America; VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, United States of America
| | - Michael F Green
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America; VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Canu D, Ioannou C, Müller K, Martin B, Fleischhaker C, Biscaldi M, Beauducel A, Smyrnis N, van Elst LT, Klein C. Visual search in neurodevelopmental disorders: evidence towards a continuum of impairment. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2022; 31:1-18. [PMID: 33751240 PMCID: PMC9343296 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-021-01756-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Disorders with neurodevelopmental aetiology such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Schizophrenia share commonalities at many levels of investigation despite phenotypic differences. Evidence of genetic overlap has led to the concept of a continuum of neurodevelopmental impairment along which these disorders can be positioned in aetiological, pathophysiological and developmental features. This concept requires their simultaneous comparison at different levels, which has not been accomplished so far. Given that cognitive impairments are core to the pathophysiology of these disorders, we provide for the first time differentiated head-to-head comparisons in a complex cognitive function, visual search, decomposing the task with eye movement-based process analyses. N = 103 late-adolescents with schizophrenia, ADHD, ASD and healthy controls took a serial visual search task, while their eye movements were recorded. Patients with schizophrenia presented the greatest level of impairment across different phases of search, followed by patients with ADHD, who shared with patients with schizophrenia elevated intra-subject variability in the pre-search stage. ASD was the least impaired group, but similar to schizophrenia in post-search processes and to schizophrenia and ADHD in pre-search processes and fixation duration while scanning the items. Importantly, the profiles of deviancy from controls were highly correlated between all three clinical groups, in line with the continuum idea. Findings suggest the existence of one common neurodevelopmental continuum of performance for the three disorders, while quantitative differences appear in the level of impairment. Given the relevance of cognitive impairments in these three disorders, we argue in favour of overlapping pathophysiological mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Canu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Chara Ioannou
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katarina Müller
- Psychotherapeutisches Wohnheim für junge Menschen Leppermühle, Buseck, Germany
| | - Berthold Martin
- Psychotherapeutisches Wohnheim für junge Menschen Leppermühle, Buseck, Germany
| | - Christian Fleischhaker
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Monica Biscaldi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Nikolaos Smyrnis
- 2nd Psychiatry Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, University General Hospital "ATTIKON", Athens, Greece
| | - Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Klein
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
- 2nd Psychiatry Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, University General Hospital "ATTIKON", Athens, Greece.
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Koch E, Nyberg L, Lundquist A, Kauppi K. Polygenic Risk for Schizophrenia Has Sex-Specific Effects on Brain Activity during Memory Processing in Healthy Individuals. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13030412. [PMID: 35327966 PMCID: PMC8950000 DOI: 10.3390/genes13030412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic risk for schizophrenia has a negative impact on memory and other cognitive abilities in unaffected individuals, and it was recently shown that this effect is specific to males. Using functional MRI, we investigated the effect of a polygenic risk score (PRS) for schizophrenia on brain activation during working memory and episodic memory in 351 unaffected participants (167 males and 184 females, 25–95 years), and specifically tested if any effect of PRS on brain activation is sex-specific. Schizophrenia PRS was significantly associated with decreased brain activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during working-memory manipulation and in the bilateral superior parietal lobule (SPL) during episodic-memory encoding and retrieval. A significant interaction effect between sex and PRS was seen in the bilateral SPL during episodic-memory encoding and retrieval, and sex-stratified analyses showed that the effect of PRS on SPL activation was male-specific. These results confirm previous findings of DLPFC inefficiency in schizophrenia, and highlight the SPL as another important genetic intermediate phenotype of the disease. The observed sex differences suggest that the previously shown male-specific effect of schizophrenia PRS on cognition translates into an additional corresponding effect on brain functioning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elise Koch
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden; (L.N.); (K.K.)
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-90-786-50-00
| | - Lars Nyberg
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden; (L.N.); (K.K.)
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden;
- Department of Radiation Sciences, Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Anders Lundquist
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden;
- Department of Statistics, School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Karolina Kauppi
- Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden; (L.N.); (K.K.)
- Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden;
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, Nobels väg 12A, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Bâ MB, Curtis L, Pellizzer G. Viewer and object mental rotation in young adults with psychotic disorders. Schizophr Res 2022; 240:92-102. [PMID: 34991043 PMCID: PMC9271235 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2021.12.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia patients have difficulty with processing visuo-spatial information, which may explain their deficits with considering other people's point-of-view. Processing visuo-spatial information operates on egocentric and allocentric frames of reference. Here, we tested the ability of individuals at different stages of psychotic disorders, specifically ultra-high-risk for psychosis individuals, as well as first-episode psychosis, and chronic schizophrenia patients, to perform a viewer mental rotation task and an object mental rotation task. The two tasks were differentiated only by the instruction given. Healthy individuals and patients with a diagnosis of anxiety/depressive mood disorder served as non-patient and patient controls, respectively. The results show that first-episode psychosis and chronic schizophrenia patients, but not ultra-high-risk individuals, had more errors and longer response times with both mental rotation tasks than the two control groups. In addition, chronic schizophrenia patients had additional difficulty with the object rotation task. The difference in performance between groups and tasks remained significant even after controlling for age, IQ, and antipsychotic medication dose. The results indicate that patients with psychotic disorders have a deficit of mental spatial imagery that include both egocentric and allocentric representations. This deficit may explain the difficulty of these patients with perspective-taking, and inferring other people's point of view, thoughts or intentions which is at the core of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryse Badan Bâ
- Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Logos Curtis
- Department of Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Giuseppe Pellizzer
- Research Service, Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Riedel P, Domachowska IM, Lee Y, Neukam PT, Tönges L, Li SC, Goschke T, Smolka MN. L-DOPA administration shifts the stability-flexibility balance towards attentional capture by distractors during a visual search task. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2022; 239:867-885. [PMID: 35147724 PMCID: PMC8891202 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06077-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The cognitive control dilemma describes the necessity to balance two antagonistic modes of attention: stability and flexibility. Stability refers to goal-directed thought, feeling, or action and flexibility refers to the complementary ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Their balance is thought to be maintained by neurotransmitters such as dopamine, most likely in a U-shaped rather than linear manner. However, in humans, studies on the stability-flexibility balance using a dopaminergic agent and/or measurement of brain dopamine are scarce. OBJECTIVE The study aimed to investigate the causal involvement of dopamine in the stability-flexibility balance and the nature of this relationship in humans. METHODS Distractibility was assessed as the difference in reaction time (RT) between distractor and non-distractor trials in a visual search task. In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study, 65 healthy participants performed the task under placebo and a dopamine precursor (L-DOPA). Using 18F-DOPA-PET, dopamine availability in the striatum was examined at baseline to investigate its relationship to the RT distractor effect and to the L-DOPA-induced change of the RT distractor effect. RESULTS There was a pronounced RT distractor effect in the placebo session that increased under L-DOPA. Neither the RT distractor effect in the placebo session nor the magnitude of its L-DOPA-induced increase were related to baseline striatal dopamine. CONCLUSIONS L-DOPA administration shifted the stability-flexibility balance towards attentional capture by distractors, suggesting causal involvement of dopamine. This finding is consistent with current theories of prefrontal cortex dopamine function. Current data can neither confirm nor falsify the inverted U-shaped function hypothesis with regard to cognitive control.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- P. Riedel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - I. M. Domachowska
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Y. Lee
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - P. T. Neukam
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - L. Tönges
- Department of Neurology, Ruhr University Bochum, St. Josef-Hospital, Gudrunstraße 56, 44791 Bochum, Germany
| | - S. C. Li
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069 Dresden, Germany ,Centre for Tactile Internet With Human-in-the-Loop, Technische Universität Dresden, Georg-Schumman-Str. 9, 01187 Dresden, Germany
| | - T. Goschke
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - M. N. Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Otsuka S, Ueda Y, Saiki J. Diversity in Psychological Research Activities: Quantitative Approach With Topic Modeling. Front Psychol 2021; 12:773916. [PMID: 34975665 PMCID: PMC8716499 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.773916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent cultural studies have discussed universality and diversity in human behavior using numerous samples investigated worldwide. We aimed to quantitatively extend this discussion to various research activities in psychology in terms of geographic regions and time trends. Most psychology departments have specialists in various fields of psychology. Further, research institutions in all regions typically aim to provide systematic and balanced research education. Nevertheless, most researchers recognize universal features and patterns of diversity in research activities in psychology in terms of regional differences and time trends. However, these arguments remain intuitive and vague, and no studies have conducted quantitative analyses. To this end, we conducted topic modeling for the abstracts of psychological articles with the regions of author affiliations and publication periods as covariates. The results showed that the topic proportions related to basic research were high in North-Central America, whereas those related to clinical research were high in Europe. Interestingly, the regional differences shown by topic modeling were not observed in the frequency analysis of keywords, indicating that topic modeling revealed implicit characteristics. Moreover, we observed an increasing trend of neuroscience topics across publication periods. However, this trend was not valid for the psychology journal Psychological Science. Taken together, our results suggest diversity of geographic regions and periods in research activities in psychology. More importantly, our findings indicate that universality holds neither for human behavior nor research activities on human mental processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sachio Otsuka
- Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | | | - Jun Saiki
- Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Zhao YJ, Ma T, Zhang L, Ran X, Zhang RY, Ku Y. Atypically larger variability of resource allocation accounts for visual working memory deficits in schizophrenia. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009544. [PMID: 34748538 PMCID: PMC8601612 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) deficits have been widely documented in schizophrenia (SZ), and almost all existing studies attributed the deficits to decreased capacity as compared to healthy control (HC) subjects. Recent developments in WM research suggest that other components, such as precision, also mediate behavioral performance. It remains unclear how different WM components jointly contribute to deficits in schizophrenia. We measured the performance of 60 SZ (31 females) and 61 HC (29 females) in a classical delay-estimation visual working memory (VWM) task and evaluated several influential computational models proposed in basic science of VWM to disentangle the effect of various memory components. We show that the model assuming variable precision (VP) across items and trials is the best model to explain the performance of both groups. According to the VP model, SZ exhibited abnormally larger variability of allocating memory resources rather than resources or capacity per se. Finally, individual differences in the resource allocation variability predicted variation of symptom severity in SZ, highlighting its functional relevance to schizophrenic pathology. This finding was further verified using distinct visual features and subject cohorts. These results provide an alternative view instead of the widely accepted decreased-capacity theory and highlight the key role of elevated resource allocation variability in generating atypical VWM behavior in schizophrenia. Our findings also shed new light on the utility of Bayesian observer models to characterize mechanisms of mental deficits in clinical neuroscience. Working memory is a core cognitive function related to a broad range of cognitive domains such as problem-solving, attention, executive control, and IQ. Although working memory deficits have been well-documented in schizophrenia, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Conventional working memory theories attribute working memory deficits in schizophrenia to their reduced memory capacity, overlooking the potential roles of other memory components, such as precision. In this study, we take the approach of computational psychiatry and use computational modeling to uncover the major determinants of working memory deficits. We assess working memory performance of a large cohort of participants (60 schizophrenia patients and 61 demographic matched healthy controls) and evaluate multiple mainstream computational models of visual working memory. The variable precision model turns out to be the best model for both groups. We further find that the poorer performance of schizophrenia patients arises from heterogeneous distribution of memory resources when encoding items in memory. This resource allocation variability can also predict symptom severity in schizophrenia. Our study highlights the use of computational models in psychiatric researches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Jie Zhao
- Center for Brain and Mental Well-being, Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tianye Ma
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Xuemei Ran
- School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ru-Yuan Zhang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
- * E-mail: (R-YZ); (YK)
| | - Yixuan Ku
- Center for Brain and Mental Well-being, Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
- * E-mail: (R-YZ); (YK)
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Dias EC, Van Voorhis AC, Braga F, Todd J, Lopez-Calderon J, Martinez A, Javitt DC. Impaired Fixation-Related Theta Modulation Predicts Reduced Visual Span and Guided Search Deficits in Schizophrenia. Cereb Cortex 2021; 30:2823-2833. [PMID: 32030407 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
During normal visual behavior, individuals scan the environment through a series of saccades and fixations. At each fixation, the phase of ongoing rhythmic neural oscillations is reset, thereby increasing efficiency of subsequent visual processing. This phase-reset is reflected in the generation of a fixation-related potential (FRP). Here, we evaluate the integrity of theta phase-reset/FRP generation and Guided Visual Search task in schizophrenia. Subjects performed serial and parallel versions of the task. An initial study (15 healthy controls (HC)/15 schizophrenia patients (SCZ)) investigated behavioral performance parametrically across stimulus features and set-sizes. A subsequent study (25-HC/25-SCZ) evaluated integrity of search-related FRP generation relative to search performance and evaluated visual span size as an index of parafoveal processing. Search times were significantly increased for patients versus controls across all conditions. Furthermore, significantly, deficits were observed for fixation-related theta phase-reset across conditions, that fully predicted impaired reduced visual span and search performance and correlated with impaired visual components of neurocognitive processing. By contrast, overall search strategy was similar between groups. Deficits in theta phase-reset mechanisms are increasingly documented across sensory modalities in schizophrenia. Here, we demonstrate that deficits in fixation-related theta phase-reset during naturalistic visual processing underlie impaired efficiency of early visual function in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa C Dias
- Schizophrenia Research Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10920 USA.,Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016 USA
| | - Abraham C Van Voorhis
- Schizophrenia Research Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10920 USA
| | - Filipe Braga
- Schizophrenia Research Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10920 USA
| | - Julianne Todd
- Schizophrenia Research Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10920 USA
| | - Javier Lopez-Calderon
- Schizophrenia Research Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10920 USA
| | - Antigona Martinez
- Schizophrenia Research Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10920 USA.,Department of Experimental Therapeutics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032 USA
| | - Daniel C Javitt
- Schizophrenia Research Division, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10920 USA.,Department of Experimental Therapeutics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032 USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Smith AD, De Lillo C. Sources of variation in search and foraging: A theoretical perspective. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:197-231. [PMID: 34609229 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211050314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Search-the problem of exploring a space of alternatives to identify target goals-is a fundamental behaviour for many species. Although its foundation lies in foraging, most studies of human search behaviour have been directed towards understanding the attentional mechanisms that underlie the efficient visual exploration of two-dimensional (2D) scenes. With this review, we aim to characterise how search behaviour can be explained across a wide range of contexts, environments, spatial scales, and populations, both typical and atypical. We first consider the generality of search processes across psychological domains. We then review studies of interspecies differences in search. Finally, we explore in detail the individual and contextual variables that affect visual search and related behaviours in established experimental psychology paradigms. Despite the heterogeneity of the findings discussed, we identify that variations in control processes, along with the ability to regulate behaviour as a function of the structure of search space and the sampling processes adopted, to be central to explanations of variations in search behaviour. We propose a tentative theoretical model aimed at integrating these notions and close by exploring questions that remain unaddressed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlo De Lillo
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Bansal S, Gaspelin N, Robinson BM, Hahn B, Luck SJ, Gold JM. Oculomotor inhibition and location priming in schizophrenia. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021; 130:651-664. [PMID: 34553960 PMCID: PMC8480515 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is widely thought to involve elevated distractibility, which may reflect a general impairment in top-down inhibitory processes. Schizophrenia also appears to involve increased priming of previously performed actions. Here, we used a highly refined eye-tracking paradigm that makes it possible to concurrently assess distractibility, inhibition, and priming. In both healthy control subjects (HCS, N = 41) and people with schizophrenia (PSZ, N = 46), we found that initial saccades were actually less likely to be directed toward a salient "singleton" distractor than toward less salient distractors, reflecting top-down suppression of the singleton. Remarkably, this oculomotor suppression effect was as strong or stronger in PSZ than in HCS, indicating intact inhibitory control. In addition, saccades were frequently directed to the location of the previous-trial target in both groups, but this priming effect was much stronger in PSZ than in HCS. Indeed, PSZ directed gaze toward the location of the previous-trial target as often as they directed gaze to the location of the current-trial target. These results demonstrate that-at least in the context of visual search-PSZ are no more distractable than HCS and are fully capable of inhibiting salient-but-irrelevant stimuli. However, PSZ do exhibit exaggerated priming, focusing on recently attended locations even when this is not beneficial for goal attainment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Bansal
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine
| | - Nicholas Gaspelin
- Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, State University of New York
| | - Benjamin M. Robinson
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine
| | - Britta Hahn
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine
| | - Steven J. Luck
- Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis
| | - James M. Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
The Imbalanced Plasticity Hypothesis of Schizophrenia-Related Psychosis: A Predictive Perspective. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:679-697. [PMID: 34050524 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00911-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
A considerable number of studies have attempted to account for the psychotic aspects of schizophrenia in terms of the influential predictive coding (PC) hypothesis. We argue that the prediction-oriented perspective on schizophrenia-related psychosis may benefit from a mechanistic model that: 1) gives due weight to the extent to which alterations in short- and long-term synaptic plasticity determine the degree and the direction of the functional disruption that occurs in psychosis; and 2) addresses the distinction between the two central syndromes of psychosis in schizophrenia: disorganization and reality-distortion. To accomplish these goals, we propose the Imbalanced Plasticity Hypothesis - IPH, and demonstrate that it: 1) accounts for commonalities and differences between disorganization and reality distortion in terms of excessive (hyper) or insufficient (hypo) neuroplasticity, respectively; 2) provides distinct predictions in the cognitive and electrophysiological domains; and 3) is able to reconcile conflicting PC-oriented accounts of psychosis.
Collapse
|
15
|
Moran JK, Keil J, Masurovsky A, Gutwinski S, Montag C, Senkowski D. Multisensory Processing Can Compensate for Top-Down Attention Deficits in Schizophrenia. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:5536-5548. [PMID: 34274967 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies on schizophrenia (SCZ) and aberrant multisensory integration (MSI) show conflicting results, which are potentially confounded by attention deficits in SCZ. To test this, we examined the interplay between MSI and intersensory attention (IA) in healthy controls (HCs) (N = 27) and in SCZ (N = 27). Evoked brain potentials to unisensory-visual (V), unisensory-tactile (T), or spatiotemporally aligned bisensory VT stimuli were measured with high-density electroencephalography, while participants attended blockwise to either visual or tactile inputs. Behaviorally, IA effects in SCZ, relative to HC, were diminished for unisensory stimuli, but not for bisensory stimuli. At the neural level, we observed reduced IA effects for bisensory stimuli over mediofrontal scalp regions (230-320 ms) in SCZ. The analysis of MSI, using the additive approach, revealed multiple phases of integration over occipital and frontal scalp regions (240-364 ms), which did not differ between HC and SCZ. Furthermore, IA and MSI effects were both positively related to the behavioral performance in SCZ, indicating that IA and MSI mutually facilitate bisensory stimulus processing. Multisensory processing could facilitate stimulus processing and compensate for top-down attention deficits in SCZ. Differences in attentional demands, which may be differentially compensated by multisensory processing, could account for previous conflicting findings on MSI in SCZ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- James K Moran
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, St. Hedwig Hospital, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Julian Keil
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, St. Hedwig Hospital, 10115 Berlin, Germany.,Biological Psychology, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel 24118, Germany
| | - Alexander Masurovsky
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, St. Hedwig Hospital, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Gutwinski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, St. Hedwig Hospital, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Christiane Montag
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, St. Hedwig Hospital, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniel Senkowski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, St. Hedwig Hospital, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Abstract
Individuals diagnosed with psychotic disorders exhibit abnormalities in the perception of expressive behaviors, which are linked to symptoms and visual information processing domains. Specifically, literature suggests these groups have difficulties perceiving gestures that accompany speech. While our understanding of gesture perception in psychotic disorders is growing, gesture perception abnormalities and clues about potential causes and consequences among individuals meeting criteria for a clinical high-risk (CHR) syndrome is limited. Presently, 29 individuals with a CHR syndrome and 32 healthy controls completed an eye-tracking gesture perception paradigm. In this task, participants viewed an actor using abstract and literal gestures while presenting a story and eye gaze data (eg, fixation counts and total fixation time) was collected. Furthermore, relationships between fixation variables and both symptoms (positive, negative, anxiety, and depression) and measures of visual information processing (working memory and attention) were examined. Findings revealed that the CHR group gazed at abstract gestures fewer times than the control group. When individuals in the CHR group did gaze at abstract gestures, on average, they spent significantly less time fixating compared to controls. Furthermore, reduced fixation (ie, count and time) was related to depression and slower response time on an attentional task. While a similar pattern of group differences in the same direction appeared for literal gestures, the effect was not significant. These data highlight the importance of integrating gesture perception abnormalities into vulnerability models of psychosis and inform the development of targeted treatments for social communicative deficits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tina Gupta
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, 2029 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, US; tel: 847-467-5907, fax: 847-467-5707, e-mail:
| | | | - Vijay A Mittal
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Watts M, Williams G, Lu J, Nithianantharajah J, Claudianos C. MicroRNA-210 Regulates Dendritic Morphology and Behavioural Flexibility in Mice. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:1330-1344. [PMID: 33165828 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-02197-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
MicroRNAs are known to be critical regulators of neuronal plasticity. The highly conserved, hypoxia-regulated microRNA-210 (miR-210) has been shown to be associated with long-term memory in invertebrates and dysregulated in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disease models. However, the role of miR-210 in mammalian neuronal function and cognitive behaviour remains unexplored. Here we generated Nestin-cre-driven miR-210 neuronal knockout mice to characterise miR-210 regulation and function using in vitro and in vivo methods. We identified miR-210 localisation throughout neuronal somas and dendritic processes and increased levels of mature miR-210 in response to neural activity in vitro. Loss of miR-210 in neurons resulted in higher oxidative phosphorylation and ROS production following hypoxia and increased dendritic arbour density in hippocampal cultures. Additionally, miR-210 knockout mice displayed altered behavioural flexibility in rodent touchscreen tests, particularly during early reversal learning suggesting processes underlying updating of information and feedback were impacted. Our findings support a conserved, activity-dependent role for miR-210 in neuroplasticity and cognitive function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Watts
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Gabrielle Williams
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Jing Lu
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Jess Nithianantharajah
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience & Mental Health, Melbourne, VIC, 3052, Australia.
- Florey Department of Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.
| | - Charles Claudianos
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
- Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Sklar AL, Coffman BA, Haas G, Ghuman A, Cho R, Salisbury DF. Inefficient visual search strategies in the first-episode schizophrenia spectrum. Schizophr Res 2020; 224:126-132. [PMID: 33097368 PMCID: PMC7722051 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Knowledge is lacking regarding deficits in selective attention and their underlying biological mechanisms during early stages of schizophrenia. The present study examined the N2pc, a neurophysiological index of covert spatial attention, and its cortical sources at first psychotic episode in the schizophrenia spectrum (FESz). METHODS Neurophysiological responses measured simultaneously with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) during pop-out and serial search tasks were compared between 32 FESz and 32 matched healthy controls (HC). Mean scalp-recorded N2pc was measured from a cluster of posterior-lateral EEG electrodes. Cortical source-resolved MEG activity contributing to the N2pc signal was derived for the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and lateral occipital complex (LOC). RESULTS Group differences in EEG N2pc varied by task demand. FESz exhibited reduced N2pc amplitude during pop-out (p < .01), but not serial search (p = .11). Furthermore, group differences in N2pc-related MEG cortical activity varied by task demand and cortical region. Compared to HC, FESz exhibited greater IPS during serial search (p < .01). DISCUSSION Reductions in EEG N2pc amplitude indicate an impairment of visuo-spatial attention evident at an individual's first psychotic episode, specifically during conditions emphasizing bottom-up processing. Examination of its cortical sources with MEG revealed that, compared to HC, FESz engaged parietal structures to a greater extent during the serial search condition. This pattern suggests a less efficient, more resource intensive strategy employed by FESz in response to a minimal demand on attention. The greater reliance on this controlled attentional network may negatively impact real-world functions with much greater complexity and attentional demands.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alfredo L Sklar
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Brian A Coffman
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Gretchen Haas
- UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and VISN 4 MIRECC, U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Avniel Ghuman
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neurodynamics, Department of Neurosurgery, Presbyterian Hospital, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Raymond Cho
- Department of Psychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine and Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Dean F Salisbury
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Bansal S, Gaspar JM, Robinson BM, Leonard CJ, Hahn B, Luck SJ, Gold JM. Antisaccade Deficits in Schizophrenia Can Be Driven by Attentional Relevance of the Stimuli. Schizophr Bull 2020; 47:363-372. [PMID: 32766726 PMCID: PMC7965078 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbaa106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The antisaccade task is considered a test of cognitive control because it creates a conflict between the strong bottom-up signal produced by the cue and the top-down goal of shifting gaze to the opposite side of the display. Antisaccade deficits in schizophrenia are thought to reflect impaired top-down inhibition of the prepotent bottom-up response to the cue. However, the cue is also a highly task-relevant stimulus that must be covertly attended to determine where to shift gaze. We tested the hypothesis that difficulty in overcoming the attentional relevance of the cue, rather than its bottom-up salience, is key in producing impaired performance in people with schizophrenia (PSZ). We implemented 3 versions of the antisaccade task in which we varied the bottom-up salience of the cue while holding its attentional relevance constant. We found that difficulty in performing a given antisaccade task-relative to a prosaccade version using the same stimuli-was largely independent of the cue's bottom-up salience. The magnitude of impairment in PSZ relative to control subjects was also independent of bottom-up salience. The greatest impairment was observed in a version where the cue lacked bottom-up salience advantage over other locations. These results indicate that the antisaccade deficit in PSZ does not reflect an impairment in overcoming bottom-up salience of the cue, but PSZ are instead impaired at overcoming its attentional relevance. This deficit may still indicate an underlying inhibitory control impairment but could also reflect a hyperfocusing of attentional resources on the cue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Bansal
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Catonsville, MD,To whom correspondence should be addressed; Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 55 Wade Avenue, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA; tel: (410)-402-6881, fax: (410)-401-7198, e-mail:
| | - John M Gaspar
- Department of Psychology, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA
| | - Benjamin M Robinson
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Catonsville, MD
| | - Carly J Leonard
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO
| | - Britta Hahn
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Catonsville, MD
| | - Steven J Luck
- Department of Psychology, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA
| | - James M Gold
- Department of Psychiatry, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Catonsville, MD
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that schizophrenia involves hyperfocusing, an unusually narrow but intense focusing of processing resources. This appears to contradict the classic idea that schizophrenia involves an impairment in the ability to focus on relevant information and filter irrelevant information. Here, we review one set of studies suggesting that attentional filtering is impaired in people with schizophrenia and another set of studies suggesting that attentional filtering is unimpaired or even enhanced in these individuals. Considerable evidence supports both conclusions, and we propose 3 potential ways of reconciling the conflicting evidence. First, impaired attentional filtering may occur primarily during periods of active psychosis, with hyperfocusing being a part of the broad pattern of cognitive impairment that persists independent of the level of positive symptoms. Second, schizophrenia may involve hyperfocusing in the visual modality and impaired attentional filtering in the auditory modality. Third, attention may be directed toward irrelevant inputs as a result of impaired executive control, and hyperfocusing on those inputs may be functionally equivalent to a failure of attentional filtering. Given the widespread clinical observations and first-person reports of impaired attentional filtering in schizophrenia, it will be important for future research to test these possibilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Luck
- Center for Mind & Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA,To whom correspondence should be addressed; tel: 530-297-4424, fax: 530-754-4500, e-mail:
| | - Carly J Leonard
- Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, Denver, CO
| | - Britta Hahn
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - James M Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Bansal S, Robinson BM, Leonard CJ, Hahn B, Luck SJ, Gold JM. Failures in top-down control in schizophrenia revealed by patterns of saccadic eye movements. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019; 128:415-422. [PMID: 31192637 PMCID: PMC6640840 DOI: 10.1037/abn0000442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Successful execution of many behavioral goals relies on well-organized patterns of saccadic eye movements, and in complex tasks, these patterns can reveal the component processes underlying task performance. The present study examined the pattern of eye movements in a visual search task to provide evidence of attentional control impairments in people with schizophrenia (PSZ). We tested PSZ(N = 38) and nonpsychiatric control subjects (NCS, N = 35) in a task that was designed to stress top-down control by pitting task goals against bottom-up salience. Participants searched for either a low-contrast (nonsalient) or a high-contrast (salient) target among low- and high-contrast distractors. By examining fixations of the low- and high-contrast items, we evaluated the ability of PSZ and NCS to focus on low-salience targets and filter out high-salience distractors (or vice versa). When participants searched for a salient target, both groups successfully focused on relevant, high-contrast stimuli and filtered out target-mismatched, low-contrast stimuli. However, when searching for a nonsalient target, PSZ were impaired at efficiently suppressing high-contrast (salient) distractors. Specifically, PSZ were more likely than NCS to fixate and revisit salient distractors, and they dwelled on these items longer than did NCS. The results provide direct evidence that PSZ are impaired in their ability to utilize top-down goals to overcome the prepotent tendency to focus attention on irrelevant but highly salient information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Bansal
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland
Psychiatric Research Center
| | | | | | - Britta Hahn
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland
Psychiatric Research Center
| | - Steven J. Luck
- Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology,
University of California, Davis
| | - James M. Gold
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland
Psychiatric Research Center
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Ferroni F, Ardizzi M, Sestito M, Lucarini V, Daniel BD, Paraboschi F, Tonna M, Marchesi C, Gallese V. Shared multisensory experience affects Others' boundary: The enfacement illusion in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2019; 206:225-235. [PMID: 30473209 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2018.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia has been described as a psychiatric condition characterized by deficits in one's own and others' face recognition, as well as by a disturbed sense of body-ownership. To date, no study has integrated these two lines of research with the aim of investigating Enfacement Illusion (EI) proneness in schizophrenia. To accomplish this goal, the classic EI protocol was adapted to test the potential plasticity of both Self-Other and Other-Other boundaries. Results showed that EI induced the expected malleability of Self-Other boundary among both controls and patients. Interestingly, for the first time, the present study demonstrates that also the Other-Other boundary was influenced by EI. Furthermore, comparing the two groups, the malleability of the Other-Other boundary showed an opposite modulation. These results suggest that, instead of greater Self-Other boundary plasticity, a qualitative difference can be detected between schizophrenia patients and controls in the malleability of the Other-Other boundary. The present study points out a totally new aspect about body-illusions and schizophrenia disorder, demonstrating that EI is not only confined to self-sphere but it also affects the way we discriminate others, representing a potential crucial aspect in the social domain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- F Ferroni
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - M Ardizzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
| | - M Sestito
- Department of Psychology, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, United States
| | - V Lucarini
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - B D Daniel
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - F Paraboschi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - M Tonna
- Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy
| | - C Marchesi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatry Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - V Gallese
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Gilmour G, Porcelli S, Bertaina-Anglade V, Arce E, Dukart J, Hayen A, Lobo A, Lopez-Anton R, Merlo Pich E, Pemberton DJ, Havenith MN, Glennon JC, Harel BT, Dawson G, Marston H, Kozak R, Serretti A. Relating constructs of attention and working memory to social withdrawal in Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia: issues regarding paradigm selection. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 97:47-69. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Revised: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
|
24
|
Bahmani Z, Clark K, Merrikhi Y, Mueller A, Pettine W, Isabel Vanegas M, Moore T, Noudoost B. Prefrontal Contributions to Attention and Working Memory. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2019; 41:129-153. [PMID: 30739308 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2018_74] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The processes of attention and working memory are conspicuously interlinked, suggesting that they may involve overlapping neural mechanisms. Working memory (WM) is the ability to maintain information in the absence of sensory input. Attention is the process by which a specific target is selected for further processing, and neural resources directed toward that target. The content of WM can be used to direct attention, and attention can in turn determine which information is encoded into WM. Here we discuss the similarities between attention and WM and the role prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays in each. First, at the theoretical level, we describe how attention and WM can both rely on models based on attractor states. Then we review the evidence for an overlap between the areas involved in both functions, especially the frontal eye field (FEF) portion of the prefrontal cortex. We also discuss similarities between the neural changes in visual areas observed during attention and WM. At the cellular level, we review the literature on the role of prefrontal DA in both attention and WM at the behavioral and neural levels. Finally, we summarize the anatomical evidence for an overlap between prefrontal mechanisms involved in attention and WM. Altogether, a summary of pharmacological, electrophysiological, behavioral, and anatomical evidence for a contribution of the FEF part of prefrontal cortex to attention and WM is provided.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Bahmani
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
| | - Kelsey Clark
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Yaser Merrikhi
- Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Adrienne Mueller
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Warren Pettine
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - M Isabel Vanegas
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Behrad Noudoost
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Kopec J, Russo N, Antshel KM, Fremont W, Kates WR. Specific differences in temporal binding aspects of the attentional blink in Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. Cortex 2018; 108:67-79. [PMID: 30130634 PMCID: PMC7730721 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) is a genetic syndrome characterized by a variety of cognitive impairments, including difficulty with attention. 22q11DS is the strongest known genetic risk factor for developing schizophrenia, a disorder characterized by impairments in visual attention and temporal binding processes. Here we examine a specific temporal visual attention phenomenon (the attentional blink; AB) within two rapid serial visual presentation tasks, and compare those with 22q11DS to groups of typically developing individuals matched on chronological (CA) and mental age (MA). Performance of individuals with 22q11DS was sensitive to differing task demands. On a Category Task, individuals with 22q11DS performed similarly to control groups on all measures of the AB, with the exception of lower detection accuracy of the first of two targets. In contrast, on a feature-based Color Task which required temporal binding of stimulus features, individuals with 22q11DS differed from CA and MA matched control groups on all AB performance measures, exhibiting lower target accuracy, more temporal binding errors, and a deeper, more protracted AB. Temporal binding in the visual domain is thought to be dependent on a serial attention mechanism that facilitates simultaneous firing of neurons in multiple areas of the visual cortex, activating short-term working memory for storage of bound features. Given the discrepancy between these two tasks, results suggest that temporal binding processes may be significantly affected in individuals with 22q11DS, a finding that importantly, has been previously demonstrated among individuals with schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin Kopec
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
| | - Natalie Russo
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Kevin M Antshel
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Wanda Fremont
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Wendy R Kates
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
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]
|
28
|
Hoonakker M, Doignon-Camus N, Bonnefond A. Sustaining attention to simple visual tasks: a central deficit in schizophrenia? A systematic review. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2017; 1408:32-45. [PMID: 29090832 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Revised: 08/20/2017] [Accepted: 09/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Impairments in sustained attention, that is, the ability to achieve and maintain the focus of cognitive activity on a given stimulation source or task, have been described as central to schizophrenia. Today, sustained attention deficit is still considered as a hallmark of schizophrenia. Nevertheless, current findings on this topic are not consistent. To clarify these findings, we attempt to put these results into perspective according to the type of assessment (i.e., overall and over time assessment), the participants' characteristics (i.e., clinical and demographic characteristics), and the paradigms (i.e., traditionally formatted tasks, go/no-go tasks, and the sustained attention task) and measures used. Two types of assessment lead to opposite findings; they do not evaluate sustained attention the same way. Studies using overall assessments of sustained attention ability tend to reveal a deficit, whereas studies using over time assessments do not. Therefore, further research is needed to investigate the underlying cognitive control mechanisms of changes in sustained attention in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marc Hoonakker
- INSERM U1114, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Nadège Doignon-Camus
- University of Strasbourg, University of Haute-Alsace, University of Lorraine, LISEC EA 2310, Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Bonnefond
- INSERM U1114, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Carter O, Bennett D, Nash T, Arnold S, Brown L, Cai RY, Allan Z, Dluzniak A, McAnally K, Burr D, Sundram S. Sensory integration deficits support a dimensional view of psychosis and are not limited to schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2017; 7:e1118. [PMID: 28485725 PMCID: PMC5534945 DOI: 10.1038/tp.2017.69] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Revised: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual dysfunction is commonplace in schizophrenia and occurs alongside cognitive, psychotic and affective symptoms of the disorder. Psychophysical evidence suggests that this dysfunction results from impairments in the integration of low-level neural signals into complex cortical representations, which may also be associated with symptom formation. Despite the symptoms of schizophrenia occurring in a range of disorders, the integration deficit has not been tested in broader patient populations. Moreover, it remains unclear whether such deficits generalize across other sensory modalities. The present study assessed patients with a range of psychotic and nonpsychotic disorders and healthy controls on visual contrast detection, visual motion integration, auditory tone detection and auditory tone integration. The sample comprised a total of 249 participants (schizophrenia spectrum disorder n=98; bipolar affective disorder n=35; major depression n=31; other psychiatric conditions n=31; and healthy controls n=54), of whom 178 completed one or more visual task and 71 completed auditory tasks. Compared with healthy controls and nonpsychotic patients, psychotic patients trans-diagnostically were impaired on both visual and auditory integration, but unimpaired in simple visual or auditory detection. Impairment in visual motion integration was correlated with the severity of positive symptoms, and could not be accounted for by a reduction in processing speed, inattention or medication effects. Our results demonstrate that impaired sensory integration is not specific to schizophrenia, as has previously been assumed. Instead, sensory deficits are closely related to the presence of positive symptoms independent of diagnosis. The finding that equivalent integrative sensory processing is impaired in audition is consistent with hypotheses that propose a generalized deficit of neural integration in psychotic disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- O Carter
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia,Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. E-mail:
| | - D Bennett
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - T Nash
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - S Arnold
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - L Brown
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - R Y Cai
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Z Allan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - A Dluzniak
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - K McAnally
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - D Burr
- Department of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - S Sundram
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia,The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia,Northern Psychiatry Research Centre, North Western Mental Health, Parkville, VIC, Australia,Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University and Monash Health, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Grave J, Soares SC, Morais S, Rodrigues P, Madeira N. RETRACTED: The effects of perceptual load in processing emotional facial expression in psychotic disorders. Psychiatry Res 2017; 250:121-128. [PMID: 28152397 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the authors and Editor-in-Chief. The Authors have recently discovered an error in the database that affects the results and, consequently, the discussion, conclusions and abstract of this article on the effects of perceptual load and task-irrelevant facial expression during a target-letter discrimination task in psychotic disorders. The error was discovered by the Authors during the analysis of new data using the same experimental task, but collected from a distinct clinical sample, and involves a systematic error in the database: pictures of one actor were coded as depicting the same valence (angry, happy, neutral) during the programming of the experimental task, regardless of the real facial expression portraited by the picture in each trial. As a result, the information provided by the ‘Emotion’ variable in the database, created by the E-Prime software for each participant during the performance of the task, was not correct. Because the Authors used the ‘Emotion’ variable to perform the statistical analysis, the results of lower accuracy for individuals diagnosed with psychotic disorders in trials where the task-irrelevant stimuli are happy facial expressions - as revealed by a significant interaction between group and facial expression (p = .016) and between group, perceptual load and facial expression (p = .027) - are not correct, thus partially affecting the discussion, conclusions and abstract of the manuscript. Besides the ‘Emotion’ variable, the raw database contains the filename of the picture presented in each trial. Therefore, the Authors were able to correct the error and to re-analyse the data, and will proceed with the submission for publication of the corrected version of the manuscript. The error had no influence on the design and procedure of the experimental task, as the order of the pictures was fully randomized per participant. The Authors apologize for the inconvenience caused by these mistakes and agree with the retraction. The Authors advise all researchers to pay special attention when scripting/coding the stimuli to be used in the experimental tasks, and to confirm all scripting/coding with independent researchers, whenever possible, to prevent mistakes (Strand, 2021). The Journal apologizes that these errors were not detected during peer review.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joana Grave
- Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
| | - Sandra C Soares
- Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal; Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS-UA), Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Sofia Morais
- Psychiatry Department, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Coimbra, Portugal; Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
| | - Paulo Rodrigues
- Department of Psychology and Education, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal.
| | - Nuno Madeira
- Psychiatry Department, Coimbra Hospital and University Centre, Coimbra, Portugal; Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Michael G, Masson M, Robert E, Bacon E, Desert JF, Rhein F, Offerlin-Meyer I, Colliot P. Disturbances of selective attention in traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia: What is common and what is different? PSYCHOLOGIE FRANCAISE 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.psfr.2014.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
|
32
|
Gould RW, Dencker D, Grannan M, Bubser M, Zhan X, Wess J, Xiang Z, Locuson C, Lindsley CW, Conn PJ, Jones CK. Role for the M1 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor in Top-Down Cognitive Processing Using a Touchscreen Visual Discrimination Task in Mice. ACS Chem Neurosci 2015; 6:1683-95. [PMID: 26176846 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtype has been implicated in the underlying mechanisms of learning and memory and represents an important potential pharmacotherapeutic target for the cognitive impairments observed in neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. Patients with schizophrenia show impairments in top-down processing involving conflict between sensory-driven and goal-oriented processes that can be modeled in preclinical studies using touchscreen-based cognition tasks. The present studies used a touchscreen visual pairwise discrimination task in which mice discriminated between a less salient and a more salient stimulus to assess the influence of the M1 mAChR on top-down processing. M1 mAChR knockout (M1 KO) mice showed a slower rate of learning, evidenced by slower increases in accuracy over 12 consecutive days, and required more days to acquire (achieve 80% accuracy) this discrimination task compared to wild-type mice. In addition, the M1 positive allosteric modulator BQCA enhanced the rate of learning this discrimination in wild-type, but not in M1 KO, mice when BQCA was administered daily prior to testing over 12 consecutive days. Importantly, in discriminations between stimuli of equal salience, M1 KO mice did not show impaired acquisition and BQCA did not affect the rate of learning or acquisition in wild-type mice. These studies are the first to demonstrate performance deficits in M1 KO mice using touchscreen cognitive assessments and enhanced rate of learning and acquisition in wild-type mice through M1 mAChR potentiation when the touchscreen discrimination task involves top-down processing. Taken together, these findings provide further support for M1 potentiation as a potential treatment for the cognitive symptoms associated with schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - D. Dencker
- Laboratory
of Neuropsychiatry, Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhangen, Denmark
| | | | | | | | - J. Wess
- Laboratory
of Bioorganic Chemistry, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Damaso KAM, Michie PT, Todd J. Paying attention to MMN in schizophrenia. Brain Res 2015; 1626:267-79. [PMID: 26163366 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.06.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Revised: 05/29/2015] [Accepted: 06/23/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this review is to explore the phenomenon of reduced mismatch negativity (MMN) in persons with schizophrenia and the possible relationship it has with attention impairments. In doing so we discuss (i) the prediction error account of MMN, (ii) reduced MMN as a faulty predictive processing system in persons with schizophrenia, (iii) the role of these systems in relevance filtering and attentional resource protection, (iv) attentional impairments in persons with schizophrenia, and (v) research that has explored MMN and attention in schizophrenia groups. Our review of the literature suggests that no study has appropriately examined the functional impact of smaller MMN in schizophrenia on the performance of a concurrent attention task. We conclude that future research should explore this notion further in the hope that it might embed MMN findings within outcomes of functional significance to individuals with the illness and those providing treatment. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Prediction and Attention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karlye A M Damaso
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
| | - Patricia T Michie
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Juanita Todd
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia; Schizophrenia Research Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Mayer JS, Kim J, Park S. Failure to benefit from target novelty during encoding contributes to working memory deficits in schizophrenia. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2014; 19:268-79. [PMID: 24215367 PMCID: PMC3945723 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2013.854199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Although working memory (WM) impairments are well documented in schizophrenic patients (PSZ), the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of target salience during encoding to determine whether impaired visual attention in PSZ leads to poor WM. METHODS Thirty-one PSZ and 28 demographically matched healthy controls (HC) performed a spatial delayed-response task. Attentional demands were manipulated during WM encoding by presenting high salient (novel) or low salient (familiar) targets. Participants also rated their level of response confidence at the end of each trial, allowing us to analyse different response types. RESULTS WM was impaired in PSZ. Increasing target salience by increasing novelty improved WM performance in HC but not in PSZ. Poor WM performance in PSZ was largely due to an increase in the proportion of incorrect but high confident responses most likely reflecting a failure to encode the correct target. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that dysfunctions of non-mnemonic attentional processes during encoding contribute to WM impairments in schizophrenia and may represent an important target for cognitive remediation strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jutta S. Mayer
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA,Department of Psychology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Jejoong Kim
- Department of Psychology, Duksung Women's University, Seoul, Korea
| | - Sohee Park
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
White matter hyperintensities are associated with visual search behavior independent of generalized slowing in aging. Neuropsychologia 2013; 52:93-101. [PMID: 24183716 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2013] [Revised: 10/09/2013] [Accepted: 10/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
A fundamental controversy is whether cognitive decline with advancing age can be entirely explained by decreased processing speed, or whether specific neural changes can elicit cognitive decline, independent of slowing. These hypotheses are anchored by studies of healthy older individuals where age is presumed the sole influence. Unfortunately, advancing age is also associated with asymptomatic brain white matter injury. We hypothesized that differences in white matter injury extent, manifest by MRI white matter hyperintensities (WMH), mediate differences in visual attentional control in healthy aging, beyond processing speed differences. We tested young and cognitively healthy older adults on search tasks indexing speed and attentional control. Increasing age was associated with generally slowed performance. WMH were also associated with slowed search times independent of processing speed differences. Consistent with evidence attributing reduced network connectivity to WMH, these results conclusively demonstrate that clinically silent white matter injury contributes to slower search performance indicative of compromised cognitive control, independent of generalized slowing of processing speed.
Collapse
|
36
|
Schizophrenia and emotional rubbernecking. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2013; 14:202-8. [PMID: 24150903 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-013-0214-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Orienting toward emotionally salient information can be adaptive, as when danger needs to be avoided. Consistent with this idea, research has shown that emotionally valenced information draws attention more so than does neutral information in healthy individuals. However, at times this tendency is not adaptive, and it may distract the individual from goals. People with schizophrenia (PSZ), though they frequently show deficits in attentional control, have also been shown to exhibit diminished recognition of and attention to emotional information. In the present study, we investigated how the presentation of emotionally salient information affected performance on a working memory task for PSZ and healthy controls (HC). We found that although hit rates were equal to those of HCs for PSZ, the PSZ made fewer false alarms-resulting in overall better performance-than did the HCs. Deficits in emotional processing in PSZ appear to provide an advantage to them in situations in which salient emotional information competes with active cognitive goals.
Collapse
|
37
|
Smid HGOM, Martens S, de Witte MR, Bruggeman R. Inflexible minds: impaired attention switching in recent-onset schizophrenia. PLoS One 2013; 8:e78062. [PMID: 24155980 PMCID: PMC3796474 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2013] [Accepted: 09/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Impairment of sustained attention is assumed to be a core cognitive abnormality in schizophrenia. However, this seems inconsistent with a recent hypothesis that in schizophrenia the implementation of selection (i.e., sustained attention) is intact but the control of selection (i.e., switching the focus of attention) is impaired. Mounting evidence supports this hypothesis, indicating that switching of attention is a bigger problem in schizophrenia than maintaining the focus of attention. To shed more light on this hypothesis, we tested whether schizophrenia patients are impaired relative to controls in sustaining attention, switching attention, or both. Fifteen patients with recent-onset schizophrenia and fifteen healthy volunteers, matched on age and intelligence, performed sustained attention and attention switching tasks, while performance and brain potential measures of selective attention were recorded. In the sustained attention task, patients did not differ from the controls on these measures. In the attention switching task, however, patients showed worse performance than the controls, and early selective attention related brain potentials were absent in the patients while clearly present in the controls. These findings support the hypothesis that schizophrenia is associated with an impairment of the mechanisms that control the direction of attention (attention switching), while the mechanisms that implement a direction of attention (sustained attention) are intact.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Henderikus G. O. M. Smid
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Center of Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Sander Martens
- University of Groningen, Neuroimaging Center, Groningen, The Netherlands
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Neuroscience, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marc R. de Witte
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Center of Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Richard Bruggeman
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, University Center of Psychiatry, Groningen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Mayer JS, Fukuda K, Vogel EK, Park S. Impaired contingent attentional capture predicts reduced working memory capacity in schizophrenia. PLoS One 2012; 7:e48586. [PMID: 23152783 PMCID: PMC3495971 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Accepted: 10/03/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although impairments in working memory (WM) are well documented in schizophrenia, the specific factors that cause these deficits are poorly understood. In this study, we hypothesized that a heightened susceptibility to attentional capture at an early stage of visual processing would result in working memory encoding problems. 30 patients with schizophrenia and 28 demographically matched healthy participants were presented with a search array and asked to report the orientation of the target stimulus. In some of the trials, a flanker stimulus preceded the search array that either matched the color of the target (relevant-flanker capture) or appeared in a different color (irrelevant-flanker capture). Working memory capacity was determined in each individual using the visual change detection paradigm. Patients needed considerably more time to find the target in the no-flanker condition. After adjusting the individual exposure time, both groups showed equivalent capture costs in the irrelevant-flanker condition. However, in the relevant-flanker condition, capture costs were increased in patients compared to controls when the stimulus onset asynchrony between the flanker and the search array was high. Moreover, the increase in relevant capture costs correlated negatively with working memory capacity. This study demonstrates preserved stimulus-driven attentional capture but impaired contingent attentional capture associated with low working memory capacity in schizophrenia. These findings suggest a selective impairment of top-down attentional control in schizophrenia, which may impair working memory encoding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jutta S. Mayer
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Keisuke Fukuda
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Edward K. Vogel
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Sohee Park
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Pomplun M, Silva EJ, Ronda JM, Cain SW, Münch MY, Czeisler CA, Duffy JF. The effects of circadian phase, time awake, and imposed sleep restriction on performing complex visual tasks: evidence from comparative visual search. J Vis 2012; 12:12.7.14. [PMID: 22836655 DOI: 10.1167/12.7.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive performance not only differs between individuals, but also varies within them, influenced by factors that include sleep-wakefulness and biological time of day (circadian phase). Previous studies have shown that both factors influence accuracy rather than the speed of performing a visual search task, which can be hazardous in safety-critical tasks such as air-traffic control or baggage screening. However, prior investigations used simple, brief search tasks requiring little use of working memory. In order to study the effects of circadian phase, time awake, and chronic sleep restriction on the more realistic scenario of longer tasks requiring the sustained interaction of visual working memory and attentional control, the present study employed two comparative visual search tasks. In these tasks, participants had to detect a mismatch between two otherwise identical object distributions, with one of the tasks (mirror task) requiring an additional mental image transformation. Time awake and circadian phase both had significant influences on the speed, but not the accuracy of task performance. Over the course of three weeks of chronic sleep restriction, speed but not accuracy of task performance was impacted. The results suggest measures for safer performance of important tasks and point out the importance of minimizing the impact of circadian phase and sleep-wake history in laboratory vision experiments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marc Pomplun
- Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
40
|
Bassett DS, Nelson BG, Mueller BA, Camchong J, Lim KO. Altered resting state complexity in schizophrenia. Neuroimage 2011; 59:2196-207. [PMID: 22008374 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 302] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2011] [Revised: 09/21/2011] [Accepted: 10/03/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The complexity of the human brain's activity and connectivity varies over temporal scales and is altered in disease states such as schizophrenia. Using a multi-level analysis of spontaneous low-frequency fMRI data stretching from the activity of individual brain regions to the coordinated connectivity pattern of the whole brain, we investigate the role of brain signal complexity in schizophrenia. Specifically, we quantitatively characterize the univariate wavelet entropy of regional activity, the bivariate pairwise functional connectivity between regions, and the multivariate network organization of connectivity patterns. Our results indicate that univariate measures of complexity are less sensitive to disease state than higher level bivariate and multivariate measures. While wavelet entropy is unaffected by disease state, the magnitude of pairwise functional connectivity is significantly decreased in schizophrenia and the variance is increased. Furthermore, by considering the network structure as a function of correlation strength, we find that network organization specifically of weak connections is strongly correlated with attention, memory, and negative symptom scores and displays potential as a clinical biomarker, providing up to 75% classification accuracy and 85% sensitivity. We also develop a general statistical framework for the testing of group differences in network properties, which is broadly applicable to studies where changes in network organization are crucial to the understanding of brain function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danielle S Bassett
- Complex Systems Group, Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, United States.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Elahipanah A, Christensen BK, Reingold EM. Attentional guidance during visual search among patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2011; 131:224-30. [PMID: 21741215 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2011] [Revised: 05/24/2011] [Accepted: 05/31/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The current study investigated visual guidance and saccadic selectivity during visual search among patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). Data from a previous study (Elahipanah, A., Christensen, B.K., & Reingold, E.M., 2008. Visual selective attention among persons with schizophrenia: The distractor ratio effect. Schizophr. Res. 105, 61-67.) suggested that visual guidance for the less frequent distractors in a conjunction search display (i.e., the distractor ratio effect) is intact among SCZ patients. The current study investigated the distractor ratio effect among SCZ patients when: 1) search is more demanding, and 2) search involves motion perception. In addition, eye tracking was employed to directly study saccadic selectivity for the different types of distractors. Twenty-eight SCZ patients receiving a single antipsychotic medication and 26 healthy control participants performed two conjunction search tasks: a within-dimension (i.e., colour × colour) search task; and a cross-dimension (i.e., motion × colour) search task. In each task the relative frequency of distractors was manipulated across 5 levels. Despite slower search times, patients' eye movement data indicated unimpaired visual guidance in both tasks. However, in the motion × colour conjunction search task, patients displayed disproportionate difficulty detecting the moving target when the majority of distractors were also moving. Results demonstrate that bottom-up attentional guidance is unimpaired among patients with SCZ; however, patients' impairment in motion discrimination impedes their ability to detect a moving target against noisy backgrounds.
Collapse
|
42
|
Abstract
Working memory impairment is considered a core deficit in schizophrenia, but the precise nature of this deficit has not been determined. Multiple lines of evidence implicate deficits at the encoding stage. During encoding, information is held in a precategorical sensory store termed iconic memory, a literal image of the stimulus with high capacity but rapid decay. Pathologically increased iconic decay could reduce the number of items that can be transferred into working memory before the information is lost and could thus contribute to the working memory deficit seen in the illness. The current study used a partial report procedure to test the hypothesis that patients with schizophrenia (n = 37) display faster iconic memory decay than matched healthy control participants (n = 28). Six letters, arranged in a circle, were presented for 50 ms. Following a variable delay of 0-1000 ms, a central arrow cue indicated the item to be reported. In both patients and control subjects, recall accuracy decreased with increasing cue delay, reflecting decay of the iconic representation of the stimulus array. Patients displayed impaired memory performance across all cue delays, consistent with an impairment in working memory, but the rate of iconic memory decay did not differ between patients and controls. This provides clear evidence against faster loss of iconic memory representations in schizophrenia, ruling out iconic decay as an underlying source of the working memory impairment in this population. Thus, iconic decay rate can be added to a growing list of unimpaired cognitive building blocks in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Britta Hahn
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, P.O. Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA.
| | - Emily S. Kappenman
- Center for Mind and Brain and Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95618
| | - Benjamin M. Robinson
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, P.O. Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228
| | - Rebecca L. Fuller
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, P.O. Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228
| | - Steven J. Luck
- Center for Mind and Brain and Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA 95618
| | - James M. Gold
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, P.O. Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Controlling the spotlight of attention: visual span size and flexibility in schizophrenia. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:3370-6. [PMID: 21871907 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2011] [Revised: 07/28/2011] [Accepted: 08/09/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The current study investigated the size and flexible control of visual span among patients with schizophrenia during visual search performance. Visual span is the region of the visual field from which one extracts information during a single eye fixation, and a larger visual span size is linked to more efficient search performance. Therefore, a reduced visual span may explain patients' impaired performance on search tasks. The gaze-contingent moving window paradigm was used to estimate the visual span size of patients and healthy participants while they performed two different search tasks. In addition, changes in visual span size were measured as a function of two manipulations of task difficulty: target-distractor similarity and stimulus familiarity. Patients with schizophrenia searched more slowly across both tasks and conditions. Patients also demonstrated smaller visual span sizes on the easier search condition in each task. Moreover, healthy controls' visual span size increased as target discriminability or distractor familiarity increased. This modulation of visual span size, however, was reduced or not observed among patients. The implications of the present findings, with regard to previously reported visual search deficits, and other functional and structural abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, are discussed.
Collapse
|
44
|
Martínez A, Hillyard SA, Bickel S, Dias EC, Butler PD, Javitt DC. Consequences of magnocellular dysfunction on processing attended information in schizophrenia. Cereb Cortex 2011; 22:1282-93. [PMID: 21840846 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhr195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is associated with perceptual and cognitive dysfunction including impairments in visual attention. These impairments may be related to deficits in early stages of sensory/perceptual processing, particularly within the magnocellular/dorsal visual pathway. In the present study, subjects viewed high and low spatial frequency (SF) gratings designed to test functioning of the parvocellular/magnocellular pathways, respectively. Schizophrenia patients and healthy controls attended to either the low SF (magnocellularly biased) or high SF (parvocellularly biased) gratings. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) were carried out during task performance. Patients were impaired at detecting low-frequency targets. ERP amplitudes to low-frequency gratings were diminished, both for the early sensory-evoked components and for the attend minus unattend difference component (the selection negativity), which is regarded as a neural index of feature-selective attention. Similarly, fMRI revealed that activity in extrastriate visual cortex was reduced in patients during attention to low, but not high, SF. In contrast, activity in frontal and parietal areas, previously implicated in the control of attention, did not differ between patients and controls. These findings suggest that impaired sensory processing of magnocellularly biased stimuli lead to impairments in the effective processing of attended stimuli, even when the attention control systems themselves are intact.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antígona Martínez
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Schizophrenia Research Division Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
45
|
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is characterized by a lack of integration between thought, emotion, and behavior. A disruption in the connectivity between brain processes may underlie this schism. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were used to evaluate functional and anatomical brain connectivity in schizophrenia. METHODS In all, 29 chronic schizophrenia patients (11 females, age: mean=41.3, SD=9.28) and 29 controls (11 females, age: mean=41.1, SD=10.6) were recruited. Schizophrenia patients were assessed for severity of negative and positive symptoms and general cognitive abilities of attention/concentration and memory. Participants underwent a resting-fMRI scan and a DTI scan. For fMRI data, a hybrid independent components analysis was used to extract the group default mode network (DMN) and accompanying time-courses. Voxel-wise whole-brain multiple regressions with corresponding DMN time-courses was conducted for each subject. A t-test was conducted on resulting DMN correlation maps to look between-group differences. For DTI data, voxel-wise statistical analysis of the fractional anisotropy data was carried out to look for between-group differences. Voxel-wise correlations were conducted to investigate the relationship between brain connectivity and behavioral measures. RESULTS Results revealed altered functional and anatomical connectivity in medial frontal and anterior cingulate gyri of schizophrenia patients. In addition, frontal connectivity in schizophrenia patients was positively associated with symptoms as well as with general cognitive ability measures. DISCUSSION The present study shows convergent fMRI and DTI findings that are consistent with the disconnection hypothesis in schizophrenia, particularly in medial frontal regions, while adding some insight of the relationship between brain disconnectivity and behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jazmin Camchong
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, 717 Delaware Street SE, Suite 516, Minneapolis, MN 55414, USA.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
46
|
What can eye movements tell us about Symbol Digit substitution by patients with schizophrenia? Schizophr Res 2011; 127:137-43. [PMID: 21147521 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2010] [Revised: 11/08/2010] [Accepted: 11/12/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Substitution tests are sensitive to cognitive impairment and reliably discriminate patients with schizophrenia from healthy individuals better than most other neuropsychological instruments. However, due to their multifaceted nature, substitution test scores cannot pinpoint the specific cognitive deficits that lead to poor performance. The current study investigated eye movements during performance on a substitution test in order to better understand what aspect of substitution test performance underlies schizophrenia-related impairment. Twenty-five patients with schizophrenia and 25 healthy individuals performed a computerized version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test while their eye movements were monitored. As expected, patients achieved lower overall performance scores. Moreover, analysis of participants' eye movements revealed that patients spent more time searching for the target symbol every time they visited the key area. Patients also made more visits to the key area for each response that they made. Regression analysis suggested that patients' impaired performance on substitution tasks is primarily related to a less efficient visual search and, secondarily, to impaired memory.
Collapse
|
47
|
Ilankovic LM, Allen PP, Engel R, Kambeitz J, Riedel M, Müller N, Hennig-Fast K. Attentional modulation of external speech attribution in patients with hallucinations and delusions. Neuropsychologia 2011; 49:805-812. [PMID: 21241719 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2010] [Revised: 01/08/2011] [Accepted: 01/10/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
A range of psychological theories have been proposed to account for the experience of auditory hallucinations and delusions in schizophrenic patients. Most influential theories are those implicating the defective self-monitoring of inner speech. Some recent studies measured response bias independently of self-monitoring and found the results inconsistent with the defective self-monitoring model, but explained by an externalizing response bias. We aimed to investigate the role of attentional bias in external misattribution of source by modulating participant's endogenous expectancies. Comparisons were made between patients with paranoid schizophrenia (N=23) and matched healthy controls (N=23) who participated in two different versions of an audio-visual task, which differed based upon level of the cue predictiveness. The acoustic characteristic of voice was altered in half of the trials by shifting the pitch (distortion). Participants passively listened to recordings of single adjectives spoken in their own and another person's voice (alien) preceded by their own or another person's (alien) face and made self/non self judgments about the source. The patients showed increased error rates comparing to controls, when listening to the distorted self spoken words, misidentifying their own speech as produced by others. Importantly, patients made significantly more errors across all the invalid cue conditions. This suggests not only the presence of pathological misattribution bias, but also an inadequate balance between top-down and bottom-up attentional processes in the patients, which could be responsible for misattribution of the ambiguous sensory material.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lana Marija Ilankovic
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Nussbaumstr. 7, 80336 Munich, Germany; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychosis Clinical Academic Group, P.O. Box 67, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8 AF, UK.
| | - Paul P Allen
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychosis Clinical Academic Group, P.O. Box 67, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8 AF, UK
| | - Rolf Engel
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Nussbaumstr. 7, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Joseph Kambeitz
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychosis Clinical Academic Group, P.O. Box 67, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8 AF, UK
| | - Michael Riedel
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Nussbaumstr. 7, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Norbert Müller
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Nussbaumstr. 7, 80336 Munich, Germany
| | - Kristina Hennig-Fast
- Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Nussbaumstr. 7, 80336 Munich, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Spencer KM, Nestor PG, Valdman O, Niznikiewicz MA, Shenton ME, McCarley RW. Enhanced facilitation of spatial attention in schizophrenia. Neuropsychology 2011; 25:76-85. [PMID: 20919764 PMCID: PMC3017629 DOI: 10.1037/a0020779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE While attentional functions are usually found to be impaired in schizophrenia, a review of the literature on the orienting of spatial attention in schizophrenia suggested that voluntary attentional orienting in response to a valid cue might be paradoxically enhanced. We tested this hypothesis with orienting tasks involving the cued detection of a laterally presented target stimulus. METHOD Subjects were chronic schizophrenia patients (SZ) and matched healthy control subjects (HC). In Experiment 1 (15 SZ, 16 HC), cues were endogenous (arrows) and could be valid (100% predictive) or neutral with respect to the subsequent target position. In Experiment 2 (16 SZ, 16 HC), subjects performed a standard orienting task with unpredictive exogenous cues (brightening of the target boxes). RESULTS In Experiment 1, SZ showed a larger attentional facilitation effect on reaction time than HC. In Experiment 2, no clear sign of enhanced attentional facilitation was found in SZ. CONCLUSIONS The voluntary, facilitatory shifting of spatial attention may be relatively enhanced in individuals with schizophrenia in comparison to healthy individuals. This effect bears resemblance to other relative enhancements of information processing in schizophrenia such as saccade speed and semantic priming.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin M Spencer
- Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System/Harvard Medical School, Research 151C, 150 S. Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130, USA.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
49
|
Kumar CTS, Christodoulou T, Vyas NS, Kyriakopoulos M, Corrigall R, Reichenberg A, Frangou S. Deficits in visual sustained attention differentiate genetic liability and disease expression for schizophrenia from Bipolar Disorder. Schizophr Res 2010; 124:152-60. [PMID: 20674278 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2010] [Revised: 07/07/2010] [Accepted: 07/09/2010] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained attention is considered a cardinal feature of psychoses but its association with genetic liability and disease expression in BD remains to be clarified. METHODS Visual sustained attention was assessed using the Degraded Symbol Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) in a sample of 397 individuals consisting of 50 remitted SZ patients, 119 of their first degree relatives, 47 euthymic BD patients, 88 of their first degree relatives and 93 healthy controls. Relatives with a personal history of schizophrenia or bipolar spectrum disorders were excluded. Performance on the DS-CPT was evaluated based on the response criterion (the amount of perceptual evidence required to designate a stimulus as a target) and sensitivity (a signal-detection theory measure of signal/noise discrimination). RESULTS We found no effect of genetic risk or diagnosis for either disorder on response criterion. In contrast, impaired sensitivity was seen in SZ patients and to a lesser degree in their relatives but not in BD patients and their relatives. These findings were not attributable to IQ, medication, age of onset or duration of illness. CONCLUSIONS Our results argue for the specificity of visual sustained attention impairment in differentiating SZ from BD. They also suggest that compromised visual information processing is a significant contributor to these deficits in SZ.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C T S Kumar
- Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Hahn B, Robinson BM, Kaiser ST, Harvey AN, Beck VM, Leonard CJ, Kappenman ES, Luck SJ, Gold JM. Failure of schizophrenia patients to overcome salient distractors during working memory encoding. Biol Psychiatry 2010; 68:603-9. [PMID: 20570242 PMCID: PMC2942999 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2009] [Revised: 04/07/2010] [Accepted: 04/16/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior demonstrations of impaired attentional control in schizophrenia focused on conditions in which top-down control is needed to overcome prepotent response tendencies. Attentional control over stimulus processing has received little investigation. Here, we test whether attentional control is impaired during working memory encoding when salient distractors compete with less salient task-relevant stimuli. METHODS Patients with schizophrenia (n = 28) and healthy control subjects (n = 25) performed a visuospatial working memory paradigm in which half of the to-be-encoded stimuli flickered to increase their salience. After a 2-second delay, stimuli reappeared and participants had to decide whether or not a probed item had shifted location. RESULTS In the unbiased condition where flickering and nonflickering stimuli were equally likely to be probed, both groups displayed a trend toward better memory for the flickering items. In the flicker-bias condition in which the flickering stimuli were likely to be probed, both groups displayed a robust selection advantage for the flickering items. However, in the nonflicker-bias condition in which the nonflickering stimuli were likely to be probed, only healthy control subjects showed selection of the nonflickering items. Patients displayed a trend toward preferential memory for the flickering items, as in the unbiased condition. CONCLUSIONS Both groups were able to select salient over nonsalient stimuli, but patients with schizophrenia were unable to select nonsalient over salient stimuli, consistent with impairment in the effortful control of attention. These findings demonstrate the generality of top-down control failure in schizophrenia in the face of bottom-up competition from salient stimuli as with prepotent response tendencies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Britta Hahn
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, P.O. box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228,Corresponding author: , Tel: 410-402-6112, Fax: 410-402-7198
| | - Benjamin M. Robinson
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, P.O. box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228
| | - Samuel T. Kaiser
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, P.O. box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228
| | - Alexander N. Harvey
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, P.O. box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228
| | - Valerie M. Beck
- University of California, Davis, Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, Davis, CA 95618
| | - Carly J. Leonard
- University of California, Davis, Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, Davis, CA 95618
| | - Emily S. Kappenman
- University of California, Davis, Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, Davis, CA 95618
| | - Steven J. Luck
- University of California, Davis, Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, Davis, CA 95618
| | - James M. Gold
- University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, P.O. box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228
| |
Collapse
|