Study of Sensory and Cognitive Prediction Differences in Schizophrenia Using a Visual Illusion Task

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying sensory and cognitive prediction disruptions in people with schizophrenia and sensory processing disorders. The study explores how disturbances in the sense of self and perception of time relate to psychotic symptoms. It focuses on how patients process information at very short time scales and how this may affect their experience of time and reality using a new visual illusion. Participants will complete a task where two squares move towards each other and either collide or appear to have a gap between them due to sensory predictions. Different conditions will test the effects of trajectory perturbations and rebound effects on the illusion. All participants experience all experimental conditions to compare sensory versus cognitive prediction impacts. During the study, participants will respond to whether the squares touch or not under various conditions. They will also undergo brief neuropsychological tests for attention and semantic knowledge and a clinical evaluation of their sense of self. Researchers will measure the effect of millisecond-level trajectory changes on perception and the influence of top-down conscious expectations, with the study lasting about four months.

Sensory and Cognitive Predictions, and Their Disruptions in Schizophrenia