A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Audiovisual Multisensory Integration in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

A growing body of literature suggests that there may be deficits in audiovisual multisensory integration in schizophrenia at both the nonsocial and social levels of stimuli. The present study provides a meta-analytic synthesis of the literature on audiovisual multisensory integration in schizophrenia to evaluate if there are deficits in multisensory integration in schizophrenia relative to healthy controls (HCs) and whether these deficits are more prominent with certain types of stimuli. Initial searches identified 1552 articles for review, with 17 studies deemed appropriate for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Findings confirm that individuals with schizophrenia exhibit impaired multisensory integration relative to HCs, d = 0.60, 95% CI [0.46, 0.75]. This impairment was seen regardless of stimulus type, across both social, d = 0.71, 95% CI [0.50, 0.91], and nonsocial, d = 0.49, 95% CI [0.27, 0.71] stimuli and did not significantly differ ( p = 0.150). These findings strengthen the past literature suggesting individuals with schizophrenia do exhibit deficits in multisensory integration across multiple levels of stimuli. Clinical implications are discussed.