Visual attention in 7-year-old children at familial high risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: The Danish high risk and resilience study VIA 7.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nAttention deficits are found in children at familial high risk of schizophrenia (FHR-SZ) and bipolar disorder (FHR-BP) using assessment methods relying on motor-based response latency. This study compares visual attention functions in children at FHR-SZ or FHR-BP with controls using an unspeeded task unconfounded by motor components.\n\n\nMETHODS\nVisual attention was assessed in 133 7-year-old children at FHR-SZ (N\u202f=\u202f56) or FHR-BP (N\u202f=\u202f32), and controls (N\u202f=\u202f45) using the unspeeded paradigm, TVA-based whole report. We compared four parameters of visual attention: visual processing speed, visual short-term memory, threshold for visual perception, and error rate. Further, we investigated their potential relationships with severity of psychopathology, adequacy of the home environment, and neurocognitive measures.\n\n\nRESULTS\nChildren at FHR-SZ displayed significant deficits in perceptual processing speed of visual attention compared with controls (p\u202f<\u202f.001; d\u202f=\u202f0.75) as did children at FHR-BP (p\u202f<\u202f.05; d\u202f=\u202f0.54). Visual processing speed was significantly associated with spatial working memory (β\u202f=\u202f-0.23; t(68)\u202f=\u202f-3.34, p\u202f=\u202f.01) and psychomotor processing speed (β\u202f=\u202f0.14, t(67)\u202f=\u202f2.11, p\u202f<\u202f.05).\n\n\nLIMITATIONS\nLarger group sizes would have permitted inclusion of more predictors in the search for neurocognitive and other factors associated with the parameters of TVA-based whole report.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nYoung children at FHR-SZ and FHR-BP display significant deficits in processing speed of visual attention, which may reflect the effect of shared vulnerability risk genes. Early identification of children at FHR-SZ and FHR-BP with perceptual processing speed impairments may represent a low-cost basis for low-risk interventions.