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Systematic review and meta-analysis of early visual processing, social cognition, and functional outcomes in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Ganse-Dumrath, A., Chohan, A., Samuel, S. ORCID: 0000-0001-7776-7427 , Bretherton, P., Haenschel, C. ORCID: 0000-0001-7855-2735 & Fett, A-K. ORCID: 0000-0003-0282-273X (2025). Systematic review and meta-analysis of early visual processing, social cognition, and functional outcomes in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Schizophrenia Research: Cognition, 40, article number 100351. doi: 10.1016/j.scog.2025.100351

Abstract

Non-affective psychotic disorders are marked by cognitive and sensory processing abnormalities, including in early visual processing and social cognition. Understanding the relationships between these deficits and their impact on daily-life functional outcomes may help to improve outcomes in affected individuals. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarise the existing evidence on the relationships between early visual processing, social cognition, and functional outcomes, and to assess the evidence regarding the mediating role of social cognition in the association between early visual processing and functional outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. A comprehensive search across five databases identified 364 potentially eligible studies, with eight articles meeting all inclusion criteria. Meta-analytic techniques were employed to synthesise effect sizes and assess a meta-mediation model. Three random-effects meta-analyses revealed significant associations between all three domains of interest. Social cognition partially mediated the relationship between early visual processing and functional outcomes. The direct effect of early visual processing on functional outcomes remained significant, albeit with a reduced effect size. The findings suggest that interventions targeting both early visual processing and social cognition concurrently may improve functional outcomes more effectively than focusing on either domain alone.

Publication Type: Article
Additional Information: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords: Non-affective psychosis, Psychosocial functioning, Perceptual abnormalities, Social cognitive deficits, Mediation
Subjects: R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0321 Neuroscience. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Departments: School of Health & Medical Sciences
School of Health & Medical Sciences > Psychology
SWORD Depositor:
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