Functional correlates of atypical visuoperceptual organization in a multisite clinical high-risk sample

Individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for developing psychotic disorders are thought to exhibit atypical visuoperceptual organization. Furthermore, CHR status is associated with reduced cognitive, social, and role functioning. We hypothesize that atypical visuoperceptual organization may lead to downstream impairments in cognitive, social, and role functioning. However, the degree to which visuoperceptual organization can explain such functioning is unclear. Our sample consisted of four groups: a CHR group (n = 339), a mild psychotic-like experiences group (n = 162), a nonpsychotic clinical group (n = 111), and a healthy control group (n = 199). We measured perceptual organization via Ebbinghaus and Mooney Faces tasks. In the Ebbinghaus task, participants judged the size of target circles in the presence of surrounding circles. In the Mooney Faces task, participants reported whether they detected faces in two-tone images. Ebbinghaus context sensitivity correlated with measures of cognitive ability such as symbol coding, r(572) = .13, p_fdr = .007, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.05, 0.21], verbal learning, r(608) = .1, p_fdr = .016, 95% CI [0.02, 0.18], and reading ability, r(550) = .09, p_fdr = .038, 95% CI [0.01, 0.17]. In contrast, Mooney inverted face detection correlated with social functioning, r(636) = -.09, p_fdr = .025, 95% CI [-0.17, -0.01], role functioning, r(638) = -.16, p_fdr < .001, 95% CI [-0.23, -0.08], and social phobia severity, r(616) = .14, p_fdr = .001, 95% CI [0.06, 0.22]. Increased inverted face detection in CHR may reflect overweighting of perceptual priors, which has downstream effects on functioning in school and workplace settings. Contrary to our expectations, Ebbinghaus context sensitivity did not differ between groups but did relate to general cognitive functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).