The relationship between visual abnormalities and psychotic like experiences in young individuals with and without mental health symptoms
Nathaniel Weiler (1), Jonah Loshin (1), Elif Ozan (1), Grace Owens (1), Zachary B. Millman (1), Dost Ongur (1), Halide B. Turkozer (1)
1. McLean Hospital
Background: Psychotic disorders cause significant suffering for individuals and major challenges to our healthcare system. First episode psychosis is preceded by a clinical high-risk (CHR) prodromal period. Perceptual impairments are frequently seen in this period and are associated with higher rates of transition to psychosis. This study explores the relationship between visual perception and clinical symptoms in a transdiagnostic sample of young individuals with and without mental health symptoms.
Methods: The study recruited three groups of participants (ages 15-30): healthy controls (HC, n=11), clinical controls with depression or anxiety symptoms (CC, n=5), and individuals experiencing subthreshold psychotic symptoms (CHR, n=3). Psychotic-like experiences were assessed by the Prodromal Questionnaire, Brief (PQ-B). Audio-Visual Abnormalities Questionnaire (AVAQ) was used to examine auditory and visual symptoms. Contour integration function was assessed using the Jittered Orientation Visual Integration (JOVI) task. Biological motion perception was assessed using point-light animations. Face perception was assessed using the Mooney Faces Task.
Results: AVAQ total and visual subscores were both found to be correlated with PQB distress scores [(r = 0.67, p = .0026), (r = 0.68, p = .0021)], and PQB total scores [(r = 0.67, p = .0023), (r = 0.68, p = .0021)], respectively. Higher AVAQ visual subscores were correlated with lower performance in face present (r = –0.463, p = .0458) and face inverted conditions (r = –0.457, p = .049).
Conclusions: These results indicate that (1) there is a strong positive correlation between self-report visual abnormalities and psychosis risk symptoms, and (2) lower performance on visual processing tasks is linked to distressing psychotic experiences. However, further research with larger sample sizes is needed to replicate these findings and assess their clinical applications.