Unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia
Abstract This study investigates the computational mechanisms underlying visual working memory (VWM) deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) under distraction. Combining 60 SZ patients and 61 demographically matched healthy controls (HC), we employed a modified delayed-estimation task with varying set sizes...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Schizophrenia |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00631-z |
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| _version_ | 1849399570617860096 |
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| author | Ru-Yuan Zhang Yi-Jie Zhao Li Zhang Xuemei Ran Ji Chen Yixuan Ku |
| author_facet | Ru-Yuan Zhang Yi-Jie Zhao Li Zhang Xuemei Ran Ji Chen Yixuan Ku |
| author_sort | Ru-Yuan Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study investigates the computational mechanisms underlying visual working memory (VWM) deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) under distraction. Combining 60 SZ patients and 61 demographically matched healthy controls (HC), we employed a modified delayed-estimation task with varying set sizes (1/3) and distractor numbers (0/2). Results showed universally impaired VWM performance in SZ across conditions, though distraction did not disproportionately worsen their deficits. Using the variable precision model, we found that distractors significantly increased resource allocation variability (reflecting heterogeneity in attentional resource distribution) in HC, but not in SZ. This counterintuitive pattern suggests SZ patients’ VWM processes are less perturbed by external distractions, potentially linked to reduced flexibility in cognitive control. Our findings highlight the nonlinear interplay of multiple cognitive dysfunctions in SZ, where their combined effects exceed simple additive models, offering new insights into the mechanistic complexity of cognitive deficits in the disorder. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b2037a292c7a48a2bb0dd3ea973a44a2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2754-6993 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Schizophrenia |
| spelling | doaj-art-b2037a292c7a48a2bb0dd3ea973a44a22025-08-20T03:38:18ZengNature PortfolioSchizophrenia2754-69932025-07-011111710.1038/s41537-025-00631-zUnexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophreniaRu-Yuan Zhang0Yi-Jie Zhao1Li Zhang2Xuemei Ran3Ji Chen4Yixuan Ku5Brain Health Institute, National Center for Mental Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and School of PsychologyClinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji UniversityShanghai Changning Mental Health CenterSchool of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal UniversityCenter for Brain Health and Brain Technology, Global Institute of Future Technology, Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Department of Psychology, Center for Brain and Mental Well-being, Sun Yat-sen UniversityAbstract This study investigates the computational mechanisms underlying visual working memory (VWM) deficits in schizophrenia (SZ) under distraction. Combining 60 SZ patients and 61 demographically matched healthy controls (HC), we employed a modified delayed-estimation task with varying set sizes (1/3) and distractor numbers (0/2). Results showed universally impaired VWM performance in SZ across conditions, though distraction did not disproportionately worsen their deficits. Using the variable precision model, we found that distractors significantly increased resource allocation variability (reflecting heterogeneity in attentional resource distribution) in HC, but not in SZ. This counterintuitive pattern suggests SZ patients’ VWM processes are less perturbed by external distractions, potentially linked to reduced flexibility in cognitive control. Our findings highlight the nonlinear interplay of multiple cognitive dysfunctions in SZ, where their combined effects exceed simple additive models, offering new insights into the mechanistic complexity of cognitive deficits in the disorder.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00631-z |
| spellingShingle | Ru-Yuan Zhang Yi-Jie Zhao Li Zhang Xuemei Ran Ji Chen Yixuan Ku Unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia Schizophrenia |
| title | Unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia |
| title_full | Unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia |
| title_fullStr | Unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia |
| title_short | Unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia |
| title_sort | unexpected higher resilience to distraction during visual working memory in schizophrenia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41537-025-00631-z |
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