Reduced Visual Function in Schizotypal Traits: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Background and Hypothesis Visual impairments have been proposed as risk factors for psychotic symptoms and illnesses. Visual impairments can considerably impact people’s daily lives, but little is known about the impact and diagnostic sensitivity of such abnormalities for schizotypal personality traits. This study aims to explore possible relationships between schizotypy and visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity, and parameters that describe eye movements and visual processing times. Study Design Schizotypy was assessed in 37 participants with the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale-Brief (MSS-B). For the visual function measures, we used the Acuity-Plus test and the new Eye Movement and Integrated Saccade Latency (EMAIL) test. The latter measures oculomotor performance during an eye movement task, including the visual processing time at the end of each saccade. Study Results The disorganized dimension of the schizotypy scores predicted VA when measured with black optotypes. Additionally, we found that participants who had higher disorganized scores showed an increased response variability, as assessed through the goodness of fit measure from the EMAIL test. Conclusions These results from this exploratory study extend upon earlier findings from both general and patient samples, highlighting the clinical and subclinical importance of understanding how spatial vision can be affected in people with schizotypal disorganized behavior.