The beneficial influence of inattention on visual interference in schizophrenia.

Abstract

Schizophrenia patients likely pay less attention to stimuli in general; however, the impact of this impairment on target detection is compensated by relatively greater inattention to irrelevant components of the stimuli, and this explains why they are not more influenced by interference than healthy participants at the behavioral level. (PsycINFO Database Record

The P1 visual-evoked potential, red light, and transdiagnostic psychiatric symptoms

“…While earlier work included samples with a discrete diagnosis, our findings in this transdiagnostic sample suggest that higher severity of delusions/magical thinking is associated with reduced P1 amplitude, regardless of diagnosis. We did not find a P1 amplitude relationship with either clinician-rated or self-reported disorganized symptom measures, as found in two previous studies (Bedwell et al, 2015; Brodeur et al, 2016).…”

“…Our first hypothesis was partially supported as we found that, across the entire sample, individuals with increased scores on clinician-rated PANSS Delusions (across both contrasts; see Figure 1) and the related self-report scale of SPQ-BR Magical Thinking (in the 8% contrast; see Figure 2), showed a reduced averaged bilateral P1 amplitude on the gray background. These relationships involving delusions/magical thinking are consistent with a study examining a schizophrenia sample (Gonzalez-Hernandez et al, 2014) and in a nonpsychiatric sample (Bedwell et al, 2013), but is inconsistent with one study that examined the PANSS Delusions item relationship to P1 amplitude in a schizophrenia sample and did not find a relationship (Brodeur et al, 2016). While earlier work included samples with a discrete diagnosis, our findings in this transdiagnostic sample suggest that higher severity of delusions/magical thinking is associated with reduced P1 amplitude, regardless of diagnosis.…”

“…This association with delusions is similar to a finding from our group showing that a reduced P1 amplitude in a nonpsychiatric sample was associated with increased scores on the SPQ Magical Ideation subscale, which measures severity of delusional thoughts (Bedwell et al, 2013). In addition, two of these studies are consistent in terms of P1 amplitude associations with disorganized symptoms (Bedwell et al, 2015; Brodeur et al, 2016).…”

“…The study is also limited by examination of specific items of scales rather than the higher order factors which have more established psychometric support. This approach was based on our interest in distinct symptoms rather than symptom clusters, and to allow direct comparisons of our results with those reported by other groups who also analyzed specific PANSS item severity relationships to P1 amplitude (Brodeur et al, 2016; Gonzalez-Hernandez et al, 2014). To address this limitation, we included an exploratory analysis of the scale factors which revealed that a larger decrease in P1 to the red background was related to a higher score on the PANSS Negative Scale.…”

“…These relationships did not interact with diagnostic class, suggesting that they are relatively transdiagnostic. While there do not appear to be additional published studies examining P1 amplitude across a transdiagnostic sample, studies examining schizophrenia samples found that a reduction in P1 amplitude predicted increased scores on the PANSS Conceptual Disorganization (Brodeur et al, 2016) and categorical P1 component dysfunction related to increased scores on the PANSS items of Delusions and Suspiciousness/Persecution (Gonzalez-Hernandez et al, 2014). This association with delusions is similar to a finding from our group showing that a reduced P1 amplitude in a nonpsychiatric sample was associated with increased scores on the SPQ Magical Ideation subscale, which measures severity of delusional thoughts (Bedwell et al, 2013).…”