Neural correlates of visual backward masking in psychosis

In visual backward masking (VBM), a target is followed by a mask, which deteriorates performance on the target. Schizophrenia and first episodes patients show strong behavioral deficits, reflected in strongly reduced amplitudes of the EEG as compared to controls. According to the dimensional view of psychosis, we show that also in the healthy population, at a subclinical level, participants with high traits in cognitive disorganization have deteriorated performance in VBM and reduced amplitudes in the EEG but to a much lesser extent than patients. In conclusion, VBM combined with EEG is an excellent tool to investigate psychosis traits in the schizophrenia continuum.