Visual Processing Deficits Research Articles

Empathy in schizophrenia: neural alterations during emotion recognition and affective sharing

IntroductionDeficits in emotion recognition and processing are characteristic for patients with schizophrenia [SCZ].MethodsWe targeted both emotion recognition and affective sharing, one in static and one in dynamic facial stimuli, during functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI] in 22 SCZ patients and 22 matched healthy controls [HC]. Current symptomatology and cognitive deficits were assessed as potential influencing factors.ResultsBehaviorally, patients only showed a prolonged response time in age-discrimination trials. For emotion-processing trials, patients showed a difference in neural response, without an observable behavioral correlate. During emotion and age recognition in static stimuli, a reduced activation of the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex [ACC] and the right anterior insula [AI] emerged. In the affective sharing task, patients showed a reduced activation in the left and right caudate nucleus, right AI and inferior frontal gyrus [IFG], right cerebellum, and left thalamus, key areas of empathy.DiscussionWe conclude that patients have deficits in complex visual information processing regardless of emotional content on a behavioral level and that these deficits coincide with aberrant neural activation patterns in emotion processing networks. The right AI as an integrator of these networks plays a key role in these aberrant neural activation patterns and, thus, is a promising candidate area for neurofeedback approaches.

Impact of distinct cognitive domains on gait variability in individuals with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Gait variability is a common feature in neurodegenerative diseases and has been linked to cognitive impairment. Despite this link, the influence of specific cognitive domains, such as memory, visual spatial skills, executive function, and verbal function on gait variability is not well-understood. To investigate the predictive value of these specific cognitive domains on gait variability in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia during preferred and dual task walking. One hundred and two participants with either MCI or dementia underwent a comprehensive cognitive assessment and completed preferred and dual-task walking trials on a pressure-sensing walkway. Gait variability was assessed using the PKMAS software. Lower extremity function was evaluated with a self-reported validated scale. Our findings indicate that only visual spatial abilities had a moderate predictive value on gait variability [F (1, 78) = 17.30, p < 0.01, r = 0.43], both in preferred pace walking (70% direct effect) and dual-task walking (90% direct effect) (p's < 0.05). Additionally, lower extremity functional skills had a significant indirect effect (30%) on gait variability in preferred walking contexts. For individuals diagnosed with MCI or dementia, increased gait variability may be driven by deficits in visual spatial processing. An increased understanding of the role of visual spatial processing in gait variability can aid in the assessment and management of individuals with MCI or dementia, potentially leading to targeted interventions to improve mobility and safety.

The Overlooked Role of Modalities in Multi-Exceptional Children

ABSTRACT Multi-exceptional children often have deficits in auditory, visual, or sensory processing. As few psychologists have training in modalities, these deficits may be misdiagnosed as AD/HD, Nonverbal Learning Disorder, Autism, Dyslexia, or a host of personality disorders. This article describes the symptoms of these processing deficits and offers suggestions for therapeutic interventions. Conundrums in diagnosing the complex profiles of multi-exceptional children are addressed. Qualitative assessment is recommended as an alternative or adjunct to traditional assessment. The Checklist for Recognizing Twice Exceptional Children is included to help parents, teachers, and graduate students gain awareness of the many manifestations of multi-exceptionality. The author’s experience as a clinician specializing in multi-exceptional children serves as the basis for the article.

A hierarchy of visual processing deficits in body dysmorphic disorder: a conceptual review and empirical investigation

ABSTRACT Objective Abnormal visual processing has been proposed as a mechanism underlying excessive focus on minor appearance flaws in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Existing BDD research has not differentiated the various stages of face processing (featural, first-order configural, holistic and second-order configural) that are required for higher-order processes such as emotion recognition. This study investigated a hierarchical visual processing model to examine the nature of abnormalities in face processing in BDD. Method Thirty BDD participants and 27 healthy controls completed the Navon task, a featural and configural face processing task and a facial emotion labelling task. Results BDD participants performed similarly to controls when processing global and local non-face stimuli on the Navon task, when detecting subtle changes in the features and spacing of a target face, and when labelling emotional faces. However, BDD participants displayed poorer performance when viewing inverted faces, indicating difficulties in configural processing. Conclusions The findings only partially support prior work. However, synthesis of results with previous findings indicates that heterogenous task methodologies may contribute to inconsistent findings. Recommendations are provided regarding the task parameters that appear most sensitive to abnormalities in BDD.

Visual processing speed and its association with future dementia development in a population-based prospective cohort: EPIC-Norfolk

Visual processing deficits have frequently been reported when studied in individuals with dementia, which suggests their potential utility in supporting dementia screening. The study uses EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Cohort Study data (n = 8623) to investigate the role of visual processing speed assessed by the Visual Sensitivity Test (VST) in identifying the risk of future dementia using Cox regression analyses. Individuals with lower scores on the simple and complex VST had a higher probability of a future dementia diagnosis HR1.39 (95% CI 1.12, 1.67, P < 0.01) and HR 1.56 (95% CI 1.27, 1.90, P < 0.01), respectively. Although other more commonly used cognitive dementia screening tests were better predictors of future dementia risk (HR 3.45 for HVLT and HR 2.66, for SF-EMSE), the complex VST showed greater sensitivity to variables frequently associated with dementia risk. Reduced complex visual processing speed is significantly associated with a high likelihood of a future dementia diagnosis and risk/protective factors in this cohort. Combining visual processing tests with other neuropsychological tests could improve the identification of future dementia risk.

Abstract WP223: Cerebral Visual Impairment in ACTA2 Patients Assessed by Virtual Reality Testing

Introduction: Heterozygous missense mutations disrupting arginine 179 (Arg179) in the ACTA2 gene which codes for the smooth muscle-specific isoform of α-actin, cause Multisystemic Smooth Muscle Dysfunction Syndrome (MSMDS). The clinical manifestations of this genetic condition include congenital mydriasis, patent ductus arteriosus, stroke, and/or aortic aneurysms or dissections among many others. White matter injury, impaired autoregulation, and neurovascular coupling (due to the cerebral vasculopathy affecting cerebral perfusion) are known factors that alter neural network performance and processing speed. The lack of a standardized ophthalmologic examination that detects cerebral visual impairment (CVI), precludes an early diagnosis and creates missed opportunities for intervention. There is a paucity of data regarding CVI in MSMDS patients, and through this novel work, we present data defining their visual processing deficits. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that: 1) individuals with MSMDS will exhibit more pronounced deficits in visual-spatial processing compared to the control group, and 2) their performance will deteriorate as the complexity of visual tasks increases. Methods: Using a virtual reality (VR) based visual search task system, we characterized the impairment of higher-order visual processing in MSMDS patients (n = 4) as compared to healthy controls (n = 13). The VR-based task required searching for targets on a screen among varying levels of visual complexity. Reaction time, gaze error, shifted ellipse area, success rate, and pursuit saccade ratio were statistically analyzed with unpaired group t-tests, with significance being defined as p &lt; 0.05. Results: Compared to controls, MSMDS patients took longer to identify the correct target, were less accurate in finding the target, and exhibited greater impairment in performance with an increasing number of distractors. Both groups showed similar task compliance, measured using an off-screen count metric. Conclusion: This novel work demonstrates that MSMDS patients exhibit impaired higher-order visual processing. This highlights the need for clinical tools that can assess these difficulties with quantitative methods to guide therapies and improve functional outcomes.

Abstract TMP11: Cerebral Visual Impairment in Pediatric Stroke Patients Assessed by Virtual Reality Testing

Introduction: Pediatric stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in children, many of whom incur brain injury affecting critical visual anatomical networks. Dedicated ophthalmologic examinations that detect cerebral visual impairment (CVI) - the leading cause of congenital visual impairment in developed countries - are not standard of care and can delay diagnosis and interventions. There is limited CVI data in pediatric stroke patients, and in this work we present data defining visual processing deficits in pediatric stroke patients. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that pediatric stroke patients will (1) demonstrate greater visual-spatial processing impairments than controls and (2) demonstrate increasing performance impairment as a function of increasing visual task demands. Methods: Using a virtual reality (VR) based visual search task system, we characterized significant deficits in higher-order visual processing of pediatric stroke patients (n = 17) as compared to healthy controls (n = 13). Stroke patients suffered from a perinatal (n = 8) or pediatric (n = 9) stroke - confirmed with brain MRI - affecting various vascular territories of the anterior and posterior circulations. The task required searching for on-screen targets with increasing visual complexity. Metrics such as reaction time, gaze error, shifted ellipse area, success rate, and pursuit saccade ratio were analyzed using unpaired group-level t-tests and considered significant if p &lt; 0.05. Results: Stroke patients took longer to identify the target (p = 0.001), were less accurate in finding it (p = 0.007), and exhibited greater impairment in performance with an increasing number of distractors compared to healthy children. Groups had comparable task compliance, as indexed by an off-screen count metric. Conclusion: This original work demonstrates that pediatric stroke patients, particularly those with strokes affecting the middle cerebral artery and posterior circulation vascular territories, exhibit impaired higher-order visual processing. This highlights the urgent need for standardized clinical testing to provide quantitative performance measures of cortical visual processing. This will allow timely detection and implementation of interventional therapies.

Visuo-Cognitive Phenotypes in Early Multiple Sclerosis: A Multisystem Model of Visual Processing

Background: Cognitive impairment can emerge in the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis (MS), with heterogeneity in cognitive deficits often hindering symptom identification and management. Sensory–motor dysfunction, such as visual processing impairment, is also common in early disease and can impact neuropsychological task performance in MS. However, cognitive phenotype research in MS does not currently consider the relationship between early cognitive changes and visual processing impairment. Objectives: This study explored the relationship between cognition and visual processing in early MS by adopting a three-system model of afferent sensory, central cognitive and efferent ocular motor visual processing to identify distinct visuo-cognitive phenotypes. Methods: Patients with clinically isolated syndrome and relapsing–remitting MS underwent neuro-ophthalmic, ocular motor and neuropsychological evaluation to assess each visual processing system. The factor structure of ocular motor variables was examined using exploratory factor analysis, and phenotypes were identified using latent profile analysis. Results: Analyses revealed three ocular-motor constructs (cognitive control, cognitive processing speed and basic visual processing) and four visuo-cognitive phenotypes (early visual changes, efferent-cognitive, cognitive control and afferent-processing speed). While the efferent-cognitive phenotype was present in significantly older patients than was the early visual changes phenotype, there were no other demographic differences between phenotypes. The efferent-cognitive and cognitive control phenotypes had poorer performance on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test compared to that of other phenotypes; however, no other differences in performance were detected. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that distinct visual processing deficits in early MS may differentially impact cognition, which is not captured using standard neuropsychological evaluation. Further research may facilitate improved symptom identification and intervention in early disease.

Outcome Measures of In-Office Optometric Visual Rehabilitation Intervention on Oculomotor Function, Visual Processing Skills, and Reading Efficiency Scores in Children with Formally Identified Academic Difficulties

Oculomotor dysfunction (OMD) and visual information processing (VIP) deficits are often seen in children with reading difficulties. Prior published evidence has shown statistically significant correlations between several metrics, in particular vergence facility and reading efficiency at baseline within an office-based vision therapy (OBVT) setting supported by home vision therapy (HVT). However, data on the effects of OBVT on OMD, VIP deficits, and reading performance is currently lacking. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether vision therapy improves VIP deficits in children diagnosed specifically with a dyseidetic based reading problem with confirmed concurrent oculomotor dysfunction.

Neurofunctional Correlates of Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Posterior Cortical Atrophy

AbstractBackgroundResearch on posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) has concentrated on cognitive decline, especially visual processing deficits. However, few studies have focused on the activities of daily living (ADL), and no study has investigated the neurometabolic basis of ADL impairments. We aimed to identify regions of hypometabolism associated with ADL in PCA patients.MethodTwenty‐nine PCA patients, 35 typical Alzheimer’s disease (tAD) patients, and 26 healthy volunteers were recruited. Each subject completed a scale for total ADL [TADL, including basic ADL (BADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) subscales] and 18F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Voxel‐wise multivariable regression analysis was conducted at the level of the whole‐brain, PCA‐related hypometabolism patterns, and PCA‐specific hypometabolism patterns.ResultThe general cognitive status of PCA patients was similar to tAD patients; however, they performed worse in TADL, BADL, and IADL. In all analysis levels, TADL was associated with the bilateral parietal lobe, including the right superior parietal lobe, right inferior parietal cortex, right angular gyrus, and left superior parietal lobe. BADL was associated with the bilateral parietal lobe located in the right superior parietal lobe, right inferior parietal cortex, and left superior parietal lobe. IADL was associated with the bilateral superior parietal lobe. Bilateral superior parietal lobe hypometabolism was associated with TADL, BADL, and IADL.ConclusionHypo‐metabolism in the bilateral superior parietal lobes contributes to the decline of ADL in PCA, which is a promising target for future non‐invasive neuromodulation interventions.

Age of Onset of High Transcranial Doppler Measurements Predicts Discrepant Cognitive Profiles in Children with Sickle Cell Disease

Background: Children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) have documented compromises in neurocognitive functioning, with notable weaknesses in executive functioning. There is limited published research to define the impact of SCD on the development of visual spatial processing, which is the brain's ability to use and interpret visual stimuli and then apply it to novel situations. We hypothesized that the risk for deficits in visual spatial processing is correlated to high velocity transcranial dopplers (TCD) measurements and the age at which a high TCD velocity first occurred. Our team hypothesized that younger age at time of initial high TCD is associated with a larger impact on visual spatial skills in school aged children. Methods: This review includes data from standard of care practices within our pediatric multidisciplinary sickle cell program. Our clinic began offering neurocognitive screenings in January 2023 to patients who are school entry age (between 5 to 6 years old) or older. Children are identified to participate in screening based on age, parental interest, and provider recommendation. Patients ranging in age from 5 to 15 years of age were screened using either the Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, fourth edition (WPPSI-IV) or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, fifth edition (WISC-V). Retrospective chart reviews were performed to identify relevant data including TCD and MRI results. The Visual Spatial Index (VSI) is a primary index obtained from the Wechsler standard batteries. VSI assesses a child's ability to construct designs utilizing visual spatial reasoning, attention to visual detail, and visual-motor integration. The average child can demonstrate these skills at age 5 by mentally rotating an object such as a block and matching it with a picture or into a shaped hole. This requires the appropriate development of the basal ganglia, thalamus, parietal lobe, and temporal lobe. The Mean Index Score (MIS) is a broad representation of all cognitive domains measured on the assessment. The difference between the obtained VSI score and a child's MIS is used to determine whether a statistically significant difference exists within the Wechsler assessment system. The difference between the VSI and MIS is compared to a critical value, and if the difference of the VSI and MIS is greater than the critical value then we can say with confidence (p&amp;lt;0.05) that the difference in scores is not due to chance. Chi-square was then used to explore the relationship between the presence of a high TCD before age 5 (the age at which primary visual spatial skills are onboard) and the presence of a statistically significant visual spatial skill weakness. Results: 11 children (mean age 9.73 years; 82% Hemoglobin SS and 18% Hemoglobin SC) were assessed during the first 6 months of this new protocol. 27% (3) of the children had both a high TCD prior to age 5 and a statistically significant (p&amp;lt;0.05) visual spatial weakness, 9% (1) had only high TCD before age 5 but not VSI weakness, and 64% (7) had neither. Due to the small sample size, we used Fisher's exact to test the hypothesis that these two categorical variables (high TCD velocity before age 5 and VSI weakness) were related (P&amp;lt;0.05, P=0.024). We rejected the null hypothesis and found evidence to support a relationship between the presence of high velocities in early childhood and visual spatial skills deficit. Therefore, there is clinical indication that high TCD velocities in early childhood impact the development of visual spatial skills. Conclusion: The impact of sickle cell disease on brain development has been explored, but most published data focus on broad executive functioning skills. Our data yields evidence that the presence of high velocities in the brain before age five may be predictive of future visual spatial abilities as measured using standardized measures (i.e., Wechsler Assessments). It is anticipated that further data exploration will inform the optimization of standard of care practices within our clinic. This may include medical practices such as neuroimaging, changing how we communicate with children and their families, and enhanced practices for supporting students at school through IEPs.

Perception of the McGurk effect in people with one eye depends on whether the eye is removed during infancy or adulthood.

The visual system is not fully mature at birth and continues to develop throughout infancy until it reaches adult levels through late childhood and adolescence. Disruption of vision during this postnatal period and prior to visual maturation results in deficits of visual processing and in turn may affect the development of complementary senses. Studying people who have had one eye surgically removed during early postnatal development is a useful model for understanding timelines of sensory development and the role of binocularity in visual system maturation. Adaptive auditory and audiovisual plasticity following the loss of one eye early in life has been observed for both low-and high-level visual stimuli. Notably, people who have had one eye removed early in life perceive the McGurk effect much less than binocular controls. The current study investigates whether multisensory compensatory mechanisms are also present in people who had one eye removed late in life, after postnatal visual system maturation, by measuring whether they perceive the McGurk effect compared to binocular controls and people who have had one eye removed early in life. People who had one eye removed late in life perceived the McGurk effect similar to binocular viewing controls, unlike those who had one eye removed early in life. This suggests differences in multisensory compensatory mechanisms based on age at surgical eye removal. These results indicate that cross-modal adaptations for the loss of binocularity may be dependent on plasticity levels during cortical development.

Conceptions and Misconceptions: What Do School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists Think About Dyslexia?

The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') conceptions and misconceptions about dyslexia. Participants were 86 school-based SLPs. They completed an online survey on which they rated their agreement and disagreement with true and false statements related to the scientific evidence about the nature of dyslexia and interventions for dyslexia, as well as common misconceptions about dyslexia. There was considerable variability among SLPs' agreement and disagreement with the statements. Critically, despite abundant contrary evidence in the literature, many SLPs believe that dyslexia involves a visual processing deficit. These findings suggest that many school-based SLPs hold misconceptions about dyslexia, especially those related to dyslexia being a visual disorder. The identified misconceptions may contribute to some SLPs' reluctance to incorporate reading and prereading skills into speech-language assessment and intervention. SLPs need greater knowledge of dyslexia to provide more effective evaluations and intervention services.

Duration perception for visual stimuli is impaired in dyslexia but deficits in visual processing may not be the culprits

Dyslexics underperform controls in estimating and comparing time intervals defined by visual stimuli. Accuracy in vision-based duration perception requires efficient processing of visual events because these will define the onset and offset of time intervals. Since dyslexics have difficulties processing dimensions of visual stimuli like luminance contrasts and motion, we do not know the extent to which these visual deficits are responsible for their difficulties in judging time intervals. To address this gap, we asked adults with dyslexia and matched controls to perform an interval comparison task involving five different types of visual stimuli with different levels of challenge regarding luminance contrasts and motion. If the expected disadvantage of dyslexics in visual duration perception increased for stimuli requiring increased luminance or motion processing, this would indicate that visual processing plays a role. Results showed poorer time discrimination in dyslexics, but this disadvantage did not change according to stimulus type. Complementary analyses of oculomotor behavior during the task suggested that the poorer timing performance of dyslexics may relate instead to attention and/or engagement with the task. Our findings strengthen the evidence in favor of visual duration perception deficits in dyslexia, but not the hypothesis that these result from purely visual problems.

Association between retinal and cortical visual electrophysiological impairments in schizophrenia.

Electrophysiological impairments in the magnocellular visual system have been reported among patients with schizophrenia, but previous theories proposed that these deficits may begin in the retina. We therefore sought to evaluate the potential contribution of the retina by comparing retinal and cortical visual electrophysiological impairments between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We recruited patients with schizophrenia and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. We recorded the P100 amplitude and latency using electroencephalography (EEG) while projecting low (0.5 cycles/degree) or high (15 cycles/degree) spatial frequency gratings at a temporal frequency of 0 Hz or 8 Hz. We compared the P100 results with previous results for retinal ganglion cell activity (N95) in these participants. We analyzed data using repeated-measures analysis of variance and correlation analyses. We recruited 21 patients with schizophrenia and 29 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Results showed decreased P100 amplitude and increased P100 latency among patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy controls (p < 0.05). Analyses reported the main effects of spatial and temporal frequency but no interaction effects of spatial or temporal frequency by group. Moreover, correlation analysis indicated a positive association between P100 latency and previous retinal results for N95 latency in the schizophrenia group (p < 0.05). Alterations in the P100 wave among patients with schizophrenia are consistent with the deficits in early visual cortical processing shown in the literature. These deficits do not seem to correspond to an isolated magnocellular deficit but appear to be associated with previous retinal measurements. Such an association emphasizes the role of the retina in the occurrence of visual cortical abnormalities in schizophrenia. Studies with coupled electroretinography-EEG measurements are now required to further explore these findings. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02864680.

Neurofunctional Correlates of Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Posterior Cortical Atrophy.

Research on posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) has focused on cognitive decline, especially visual processing deficits. However, few studies have examined the impact of PCA on activities of daily living (ADL) and the neurofunctional and neuroanatomic bases of ADL. To identify brain regions associated with ADL in PCA patients. A total of 29 PCA patients, 35 typical Alzheimer's disease (tAD) patients, and 26 healthy volunteers were recruited. Each subject completed an ADL questionnaire that included basic and instrumental subscales (BADL and IADL, respectively), and underwent hybrid magnetic resonance imaging and 18F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Voxel-wise regression multivariable analysis was conducted to identify specific brain regions associated with ADL. General cognitive status was similar between PCA and tAD patients; however, the former had lower total ADL scores and BADL and IADL scores. All three scores were associated with hypometabolism in bilateral parietal lobes (especially bilateral superior parietal gyri) at the whole-brain level, PCA-related hypometabolism level, and PCA-specific hypometabolism level. A cluster that included the right superior parietal gyrus showed an ADL×group interaction effect that was correlated with the total ADL score in the PCA group (r = -0.6908, p = 9.3599e-5) but not in the tAD group (r = 0.1006, p = 0.5904). There was no significant association between gray matter density and ADL scores. Hypometabolism in bilateral superior parietal lobes contributes to a decline in ADL in patients with PCA and can potentially be targeted by noninvasive neuromodulatory interventions.

Visual processing deficits in patients with schizophrenia spectrum and bipolar disorders and associations with psychotic symptoms, and intellectual abilities

ObjectiveLow-level sensory disruption is hypothesized as a precursor to clinical and cognitive symptoms in severe mental disorders. We compared visual discrimination performance in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder or bipolar disorder with healthy controls, and investigated associations with clinical symptoms and IQ. MethodsPatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 32), bipolar disorder (n = 55) and healthy controls (n = 152) completed a computerized visual discrimination task. Participants responded whether the latter of two consecutive grids had higher or lower spatial frequency, and discrimination thresholds were estimated using an adaptive maximum likelihood procedure. Case-control differences in threshold were assessed using linear regression, F-test and post-hoc pair-wise comparisons. Linear models were used to test for associations between visual discrimination threshold and psychotic symptoms derived from the PANSS and IQ assessed using the Matrix Reasoning and Vocabulary subtests from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). ResultsRobust regression revealed a significant main effect of diagnosis on discrimination threshold (robust F = 6.76, p = .001). Post-hoc comparisons revealed that patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (mean = 14%, SD = 0.08) had higher thresholds compared to healthy controls (mean = 10.8%, SD = 0.07, β = 0.35, t = 3.4, p = .002), as did patients with bipolar disorder (12.23%, SD = 0.07, β = 0.21, t = 2.42, p = .04). There was no significant difference between bipolar disorder and schizophrenia (β = −0.14, t = −1.2, p = .45). Linear models revealed negative associations between IQ and threshold across all participants when controlling for diagnostic group (β = −0.3, t = −3.43, p = .0007). This association was found within healthy controls (t = −3.72, p = .0003) and patients with bipolar disorder (t = −2.53, p = .015), and no significant group by IQ interaction on threshold (F = 0.044, p = .97). There were no significant associations between PANSS domain scores and discrimination threshold. ConclusionPatients with schizophrenia spectrum or bipolar disorders exhibited higher visual discrimination thresholds than healthy controls, supporting early visual deficits among patients with severe mental illness. Discrimination threshold was negatively associated with IQ among healthy controls and bipolar disorder patients. These findings elucidate perception-related disease mechanisms in severe mental illness, which warrants replication in independent samples.

Unique profile of academic learning difficulties in Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome.

Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome (WSS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by heterozygous variants in KMT2A. To date, the cognitive profile associated with WSS remains largely unknown, although emergent case series implicate increased risk of non-verbal reasoning and visual processing deficits. This study examines the academic and learning concerns associated with WSS based on a parent-report screening measure. A total of 25 parents of children/adults with a molecularly-confirmed diagnosis of WSS (mean age=12.85years, SD=7.82) completed the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire (CLDQ), a parent-screening measure of learning and academic difficulties. Parent ratings were compared to those from a normative community sample to determine focal areas in Math, Reading and Spatial skills that may be weaker within this clinical population. On average, parent ratings on the Math (mean Z=-3.08, SD=0.87) and Spatial scales (mean Z=-2.52, SD=0.85) were significantly more elevated than that of Reading (mean Z=-1.31, SD=1.46) (Wilcoxon sign rank test Z<-3.83, P<0.001), reflecting relatively more challenges observed in these areas. Distribution of parent ratings in Math items largely reflect a positively skewed distribution with most endorsing over three standard deviations below a community sample. In contrast, distributions of parent ratings in Reading and Spatial domains were more symmetric but flat. Ratings for Reading items yielded much larger variance than the other two domains, reflecting a wider range of performance variability. Parent ratings on the CLDQ suggest more difficulties with Math and Spatial skills among those with WSS within group and relative to a community sample. Study results are consistent with recent case reports on the neuropsychological profile associated with WSS and with Kabuki syndrome, which is caused by variants in the related gene KMT2D. Findings lend support for overlapping cognitive patterns across syndromes, implicating potential common disease pathogenesis.

An Overview of the Available Intervention Strategies for Postural Balance Control in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Postural instability is a prevalent issue among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that affects the development of their perceptual-motor skills and social functioning. Visual and somatosensory processing deficits, hypotonia, basal ganglia dysfunction, and anxiety are some of the concurrent disorders in individuals with ASD. Nevertheless, a definite management protocol for postural instability in ASD has not been introduced yet. Hence, we aim to shed light on the available intervention strategies for postural instability in individuals with ASD. Even though several studies have been conducted on the effects of various interventions for balance control in individuals with ASD, no study has compared their efficacy, limitations, and clinical implications. This review discusses diverse proposed interventions contributing to ASD postural instability, including martial arts, water-based interventions, animal-assisted therapies, trampoline, balance training, vestibular therapy, transcranial direct current stimulation, sports, play, and active recreation for kids (SPARK), and square-stepping exercise (SSE). Enhancing motor skills, cerebellum function, and sensory input integration were some of the main mechanisms of these interventions to improve balance control in ASD. Some interventions, such as water-based exercises and video games, were enjoyable for children with ASD and could raise their treatment adherence. In most studies, small sample sizes and the lack of a control group represented their major limitations. Therefore, future well-designed randomized controlled trials are required to assess the effects of available interventions on postural control in ASD.

A binocular perception deficit characterizes prey pursuit in developing mice

Integration of binocular information at the cellular level has long been studied in the mouse model to uncover the fundamental developmental mechanisms underlying mammalian vision. However, we lack an understanding of the corresponding ontogeny of visual behavior in mice that relies on binocular integration. To address this major outstanding question, we quantified the natural visually guided behavior of postnatal day 21 (P21) and adult mice using a live prey capture assay and a computerized-spontaneous perception of objects task (C-SPOT). We found a robust and specific binocular visual field processing deficit in P21 mice as compared to adults that corresponded to a selective increase in c-Fos expression in the anterior superior colliculus (SC) of the juveniles after C-SPOT. These data link a specific binocular perception deficit in developing mice to activity changes in the SC.