Neurocognitive performance and cognitive biases in young adults with schizotypal traits

Abstract

Recent research suggests that neurocognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia may increase the risk of developing cognitive biases. As such, we set out to determine this predictive relationship as it pertains to the development of a first-episode psychosis. We hypothesized that poorer performance in processing speed would be associated with jumping to conclusions and an externalizing bias. Poorer performance in working memory would be associated with belief inflexibility and jumping to conclusions, and poorer performance in attention would be associated with attention to threat. We hypothesized that all cognitive biases would be associated with subsyndromal positive symptoms, and schizotypal traits would moderate these relationships. Undergraduate students (N = 130) completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, DAVOS Assessment of Cognitive Biases, Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, and a computerized neuropsychological assessment battery. Processing speed had a small effect on externalizing bias, which in turn affected subsyndromal positive symptoms. There was no moderating effect of schizotypal traits on externalizing bias, but it was significantly associated with subsyndromal positive symptoms. Only the externalizing bias was associated with subsyndromal positive symptomatology, which might be explained by a restricted range and reduced variance in performance as a result of using a university student sample. This is one of few studies that sought to explain the mechanism responsible for the development of subsyndromal positive symptoms in a healthy sample using self-report measures.

Keywords:

• cognitive biases
• neurocognition
• psychosis
• schizophrenia
• schizotypal traits

Acknowledgements

The authors have no acknowledgements.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [K.K.Z], upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

During the time of study, the first author (Kyrsten Grimes) received a Canadian Institute of Health Research Award (Canadian Graduate Scholarships).