title: Detection of visual events along the apparent motion trace in patients with paranoid schizophrenia.
abstract: Dysfunctional prediction in sensory processing has been suggested as a possible causal mechanism in the development of delusions in patients with schizophrenia. Previous studies in healthy subjects have shown that while the perception of apparent motion can mask visual events along the illusory motion trace, such motion masking is reduced when events are spatio-temporally compatible with the illusion, and, therefore, predictable. Here we tested the hypothesis that this specific detection advantage for predictable target stimuli on the apparent motion trace is reduced in patients with paranoid schizophrenia. Our data show that, although target detection along the illusory motion trace is generally impaired, both patients and healthy control participants detect predictable targets more often than unpredictable targets. Patients had a stronger motion masking effect when compared to controls. However, patients showed the same advantage in the detection of predictable targets as healthy control subjects. Our findings reveal stronger motion masking but intact prediction of visual events along the apparent motion trace in patients with paranoid schizophrenia and suggest that the sensory prediction mechanism underlying apparent motion is not impaired in paranoid schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany. lia.sanders@hu.berlin.de
authors.forename: Lia Lira Olivier
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Muckli
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: de Millas
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lautenschlager
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heinz
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kathmann
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sterzer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010470:Perceptual Masking / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D012563:Schizophrenia, Paranoid / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology