Faster bi-stable visual switching in psychosis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Visual Perception

Background:

• Bi-stable stimuli yield alternating perceptual interpretations, driven by neural population suppression.
• People with psychotic psychopathology (PwPP) show abnormal visual perception, potentially due to impaired neural suppression.
• The status of bi-stable perception in PwPP remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate bi-stable perception in people with psychotic psychopathology (PwPP) using a structure-from-motion (SFM) task.
• To explore the relationship between bi-stable perception, psychiatric symptoms, and neurochemical concentrations in PwPP and relatives.

Main Methods:

• Examined bi-stable perception in 65 PwPP, 44 relatives, and 43 controls using a rotating cylinder illusion.
• Utilized a 'real switch' task to ensure adequate participant performance.
• Measured visual cortex neurochemical concentrations (glutamate, glutamine, GABA) via 7 tesla MR spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• PwPP and their relatives demonstrated faster bi-stable switch rates compared to healthy controls.
• Faster switch rates correlated with higher psychiatric symptom severity (disorganization) across all participants.
• No significant correlation was found between neurochemical concentrations and SFM switch rates.

Conclusions:

• Results suggest reduced neural suppression during SFM perception in PwPP.
• Genetic liability for psychosis is associated with disrupted bi-stable perception.
• Bi-stable perception may serve as a potential biomarker for psychosis-related neural disruptions.