Slowed alpha oscillations and percept formation in psychotic psychopathology

Psychosis is in part defined by disturbances in perception. Recent investigations have implicated the speed of alpha oscillations observed in brain electrical activity as reflective of a sampling rate of the visual environment and perception. Although both slowed alpha oscillations and aberrant percept formation are evident in disorders of psychotic psychopathology such as schizophrenia it is unclear whether slow alpha accounts for abnormal visual perception in these disorders.

To examine the role of the speed of alpha oscillations in perception in psychotic psychopathology we gathered resting-state magneto-encephalography data from probands with psychotic psychopathology (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder with a history of psychosis), their biological siblings, and healthy controls. We appraised visual perceptual function without the confound of cognitive ability and effort through the use of a simple binocular rivalry task.

We found a slowed pace of alpha oscillations in psychotic psychopathology that was associated with longer percept durations during binocular rivalry, consistent with the assertion that occipital alpha oscillations govern the rate of accumulation of visual information used to generate percepts. Alpha speed varied widely across individuals with psychotic psychopathology and was highly stable across several months indicating that it is likely a trait characteristic of neural function that is relevant to visual perception. Finally, a lower speed of alpha oscillation was associated with a lower IQ and greater disorder symptomatology implying that the effects of the endogenous neural oscillation on visual perception may have wider consequences for everyday functioning.

Slowed alpha oscillations in individuals with psychotic psychopathology appear to reflect altered neural functions related to percept formation.