Neurophysiological Study for Early Detection of Psychiatric Disorders Focusing on Schizophrenia and Schizotypal Traits Using Audiovisual Perception Tasks

What this Trial Is About

Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder marked by cognitive decline, social withdrawal, hallucinations, and delusions. This research explores how schizophrenia and related traits called schizotypy exist along a spectrum, sharing brain and behavior differences. The study aims to understand whether difficulties in processing sensory information in these groups come from problems with sensory input or from how the brain interprets this input using special audiovisual tasks and detailed analysis methods. Participants include people diagnosed with schizophrenia, healthy individuals with high schizotypal traits, and those with low schizotypal traits. They will complete two computer-based audiovisual tasks a temporal order judgment task asking which stimulus came first, and a modified sound-induced flash illusion task assessing perception of flashes paired with sounds. These tasks measure how well participants integrate sensory information across different time intervals. During the study, participants hearing and vision will be checked, and they will perform the audiovisual tasks while researchers collect data on their perception accuracy and timing. The main measurement is the length of the temporal binding window, indicating how sensory inputs are combined over time. This study will help clarify sensory processing differences across schizophrenia and schizotypy, with assessments done immediately after task completion.

An Integrated Neurophysiological Approach Toward the Early Detection of Psychiatric Disorders