title: Impaired perceptual processing and conceptual cognition in patients with anxiety disorders: a pilot study with the binocular depth inversion paradigm.
abstract: The binocular depth inversion test (BDIT) measures a common illusion of visual perception whereby implausible objects are seen as normal, e.g., a hollow face is perceived as a normal, convex face. Such inversion is frequent, especially for objects with a high degree of familiarity. Under normal conditions, cognitive factors apparently override the binocular disparity cues of stereopsis. This internal mechanism of "censorship" of perception, which balances "top-down" and "bottom-up" processes of perception to come to a cognitive coherence, which is congruent to previous experience and concepts, appears to be disturbed in (pro-)psychotic states. The BDIT has been shown to be a sensitive measure of impaired higher visual processing and conceptual cognition common to conditions including schizophrenia, cannabinoid-intoxication, and sleep deprivation but not depression. In this pilot study, we tested the performance of patients with anxiety disorders (ICD-10 F40 and F41) compared to matched controls using the BDIT paradigm. Anxiety patients scored significantly higher on the BDIT than controls, in a range comparable to propsychotic conditions. The findings suggest that anxiety patients could have abnormalities in central perceptual processing, top-down processing (conceptual cognition), and reality testing similar to (pro-)psychotic conditions. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to therapeutic interventions with anxiety disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School Hanover, Hanover, Germany.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Passie
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borsutzky
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Breyer
authors.forename: Hinderk M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Emrich
authors.forename: Borwin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bandelow
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schmid-Ott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D058443:Catastrophization / Q000523:psychology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009903:Optical Illusions / Q000502:physiology; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011936:Reality Testing; D015357:Vision Disparity / Q000502:physiology; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology