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. 2024 Aug 16;14(8):819.
doi: 10.3390/brainsci14080819.

The Relationship between Clinical and Psychophysical Assessments of Visual Perceptual Disturbances in Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: A Preliminary Study

Chloe Ifrah  1   2 , Shaynna N Herrera  2 , Steven M Silverstein  3 , Cheryl M Corcoran  2 , James Gordon  4 , Pamela D Butler  5   6 , Vance Zemon  1
Affiliations

The Relationship between Clinical and Psychophysical Assessments of Visual Perceptual Disturbances in Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: A Preliminary Study

Chloe Ifrah et al. Brain Sci. .

Abstract

This study investigated relations between a measure of early-stage visual function and self-reported visual anomalies in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P). Eleven individuals at CHR identified via the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS) were recruited from a CHR-P research program in NYC. The sample was ~36% female, ranging from 16 to 33 years old (M = 23.90, SD = 6.14). Participants completed a contrast sensitivity task on an iPad with five spatial frequencies (0.41-13 cycles/degree) and completed the self-report Audio-Visual Abnormalities Questionnaire. Higher contrast sensitivity (better performance) to low spatial frequencies was associated with higher perceptual (r = 0.616, p = 0.044) and visual disturbances (r = 0.667, p = 0.025); lower contrast sensitivity to a middle spatial frequency was also associated with higher perceptual (r = -0.604, p = 0.049) and visual disturbances (r = -0.606, p = 0.048). This relation between the questionnaire and contrast sensitivity to low spatial frequency may be indicative of a reduction in lateral inhibition and "flooding" of environmental stimuli. The association with middle spatial frequencies, which play a critical role in face processing, may result in a range of perceptual abnormalities. These findings demonstrate that self-reported perceptual anomalies occur in these individuals and are linked to performance on a measure of early visual processing.

Keywords: clinical high risk for psychosis; contrast sensitivity; early-stage visual processing; perceptual disturbances; schizophrenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Left Side: LogCS/500 ms, 0.41 cyc/deg by AVAQ total score and AVAQ Visual Processing (VP) score. Right Side: LogCS/500 ms, 6.5 cyc/deg by AVAQ total score and AVAQ Visual Processing (VP) score. Blue lines are AVAQ total score and orange lines are AVAQ Visual Processing (VP) score.
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