Utilizing the Visual Working Memory Paradigm Based on the "Global-First" Topological Approach to Optimize Psychiatric...

Current diagnostic methods present major challenges in accurately diagnosing and differentiating psychiatric disorders. Due to the key role of visual working memory (VWM) for cross-diagnosis research on information processing deficits, we developed a new VWM paradigm based on the "global-first" topological visual perception theory to detect different psychiatric disorders among age groups. In young groups, significant differences in accuracy were observed between topological change and no-shape-change (all p < .05) in bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) at different sequence values, and non-topological change was noted between the other two conditions when the size of the test graphic set in 3 in chronic-SCZ (p_3-same = .000/p_3-non-topo = .003). The accuracy of the no-shape-change in depression differed from that of topological change when the size of the test graphic was set at 4 (p = .002). In older adults, the accuracy of non-topological change is different from the other two conditions in depression when the size of the test graphic set is 3 (p_same = .0314/p_topo = .0390). Our new VWM paradigm demonstrates potential as a complementary diagnostic tool for psychiatric disorders, with preliminary evidence of sensitivity to disease-specific cognitive deficits. While classification accuracy [Area Under Curve (AUC) > 0.70-0.98] suggests clinical utility, further validation against traditional diagnostic instruments (e.g., DSM-5 criteria, symptom scales) is required to establish its role in clinical practice.