Prior Trial Effects on Working Memory in Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Healthy Control Individuals

Does the influence of prior trials on spatial working memory performance differ qualitatively in individuals with schizophrenia compared with individuals with bipolar disorder with a history of psychosis and healthy control individuals?This case-control study including 98 individuals found that most healthy control individuals demonstrated an attractive bias, meaning their responses were systematically pulled toward the stimulus seen on the previous trial; most people with schizophrenia showed a repulsive bias, with responses shifted away from the previous-trial stimulus, and none showed an attractive bias; and many people with bipolar disorder exhibited the attractive bias seen in healthy control individuals, although a small minority exhibited the repulsive pattern seen in people with schizophrenia.The results suggest that serial bias may serve as a valuable biomarker for pathophysiology and precision psychiatry.

Corresponding Author: Sonia Bansal, PhD, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, PO Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228 (sbansal@som.umaryland.edu).

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