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. 2025 Jun 24;20(6):e0325609.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325609. eCollection 2025.

Attentional biases, as measured by motion-induced blindness, are linked to schizophrenia traits

Joshua Paton  1 , Jeroen J A van Boxtel  1   2
Affiliations

Attentional biases, as measured by motion-induced blindness, are linked to schizophrenia traits

Joshua Paton et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Typically, people demonstrate a small attentional bias towards the left visual field. This bias has not consistently been observed in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia has been thought to be linked to a top visual field bias, due to an impaired dorsal stream found in those individuals. Here we assessed left/right and upper/lower spatial biases measuring perceptual disappearances in a motion-induced blindness (MIB) task and link those to schizophrenia traits. The sample were consisted of first year psychology students (N = 54; 22 males, 31 females, and 1 prefer not to say; age 18-54 years; median age = 23). Schizophrenia traits were measured using the schizotypal personality questionnaire (SPQ) and perceptual aberration scale (PAS). We found that higher SPQ scores correlated with a top field bias. Higher interpersonal scores (an SPQ subscore) linked to a right field, and so did PAS (p = .007). Higher cognitive-perceptual scores linked to a left field bias. Taken together, this study supports a complex relation between spatial attention and schizophrenia traits in MIB, in which a top field bias may reflect an impaired dorsal stream. A possible implication of these findings is that MIB may serve as a potential tool for screening early schizophrenia traits.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Motion-induced Blindness Paradigm.
Yellow Dots Disappear when Fixated on the White Cross.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Scatter Plot of SPQ Against Average of MIB Disappearances.
The grey dots represent participant averages.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Scatter Plot of SPQ and Top Field vs Bottom Field Against Average of MIB Disappearances.
A blue and red dot pair represents each participant.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Effects Plot.
Cognitive-Perceptual Factor (left), Interpersonal Factor (middle) and Disorganized Factor (right), and Left Field vs Right Field Against MIB Disappearances. The shaded area refers to 95% confidence intervals of the two lines (group means).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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