Can you believe your eyes? Positive schizotypy is associated with increased susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion

Lányi, Orsolya and Kéri, Szabolcs and Pálffy, Zsófia and Polner, Bertalan (2024) Can you believe your eyes? Positive schizotypy is associated with increased susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH, 264. pp. 327-335. ISSN 09209964

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Abstract

Background and hypothesis Visual illusions provide a unique opportunity to understand cognitive and perceptual alterations in schizophrenia-spectrum conditions. Schizophrenia patients often exhibit increased susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer illusion. Here, we investigate susceptibility to the Müller-Lyer visual illusion in the general population with different levels of schizotypy. Study design We assessed a population-based convenience sample (N = 263) on an online platform. In addition to basic demographics, participants completed the Müller-Lyer illusion, the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale (CAPS) to measure perceptual anomalies, and the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale – Brief (MSS-B) for schizotypic traits. To evaluate what predicts susceptibility to the illusion, we fitted a large set of multilevel logistic regression models and performed model averaging over the coefficients. Study results We found support for increased illusion susceptibility among individuals with high positive schizotypy. However, we did not find a comparable effect for anomalous perceptions alone, or for negative or disorganized schizotypy. Conclusions The increased Müller-Lyer effect in positive schizotypy might be specific to delusion-like beliefs and magical ideation. Further research is needed to clarify how a hierarchical Bayesian formulation of brain function (e.g. imbalances between bottom-up perceptual processing and substantial reliance on prior expectations) can account for the Müller-Lyer effect in schizophrenia-spectrum conditions.

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