The magnitude and variability of neurocognitive performance in first-episode psychosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

Journal article

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

Authors: Catalan, A; McCutcheon, RA; Aymerich, C; Pedruzo, B; Radua, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com]
• Journal: Translational Psychiatry
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 15-15
• Publication date: 2024-01-08
• DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02718-6
• EISSN: 2158-3188
• ISSN: 2158-3188
• Language: English
• Keywords: Clinical psychology; Medicine; Neurocognitive; Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance; Cognition; Internal medicine; Psychology; Schizophrenia (object-oriented programming); Psychosis; Psychiatry; Meta-analysis