New Findings of Stronger Tilt Aftereffects in Individuals Diagnosed with Schizophrenia Published in Journal of Abnormal Psychology

Comprehensive and computational accounts of schizophrenia suggest that a subset of symptoms are characterized by an abnormality in using context to shape perception and guide behavior. Here, we focused specifically on temporal context—the influence of past history and stored regularities across time on the interpretation and response to current input. The current study sought to test whether such an abnormality would be present in the visual systems of individuals with schizophrenia by testing the strength of visual aftereffects—illusory perceptions caused by prior exposure to a visual stimulus. We found that tilt aftereffects were stronger in individuals with schizophrenia and related to the severity of negative symptoms, suggesting over-sensitivity to recently presented information.

Jessica Fattal