Project Grant F31MH144772

OCULOMOTOR DYSFUNCTION AS MECHANISTIC TARGET FOR ANOMALOUS SELF-EXPERIENCES IN THE PSYCHOSIS RISK SPECTRUM - PROJECT SUMMARY DISTURBANCES IN THE EXPERIENCE OF AGENCY AND THE SELF ARE THOUGHT TO BE A CORE SYMPTOM OF THE PSYCHOSIS SPECTRUM, ARISING FREQUENTLY AS AN ISSUE OF PRESSING INTEREST IN PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH. THESE SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN THEORETICALLY RELATED TO COROLLARY DISCHARGE MECHANISMS, EFFERENT MOTOR SIGNALS WHICH PROVIDE FEEDBACK ABOUT PLANNED MOVEMENTS TO INFORM THE PREDICTED CHANGES TO INCOMING SENSORY AND MOTOR INFORMATION AS A RESULT OF THE MOVEMENT. THE OCULOMOTOR SYSTEM PROVIDES AN OPTIMAL METRIC TO ASSESS COROLLARY DISCHARGE, AS THERE ARE RELIABLE AND VALID TOOLS FOR MEASUREMENT, A WELL-MAPPED CIRCUIT UNDERLYING OCULOMOTOR CONTROL, AND A LONG HISTORY OF LITERATURE ON OCULOMOTOR ALTERATIONS IN THE SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM. IMPAIRMENTS IN SMOOTH PURSUIT EYE MOVEMENTS AND TOP-TOWN CONTROL OF EYE MOVEMENTS HAVE BEEN WELL-DOCUMENTED IN SCHIZOPHRENIA, BUT HOW THEY RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER, AND HOW THEY RELATE TO MEASURES OF OCULOMOTOR COROLLARY DISCHARGE, IS LESS WELL-UNDERSTOOD. FURTHERMORE, ALTHOUGH DOUBLE-STEP PARADIGMS HAVE BEEN RELATED TO ANOMALOUS SELF-EXPERIENCES, THE LITERATURE IS RELATIVELY SPARSE AND HAS NOT BEEN CLEARLY RELATED TO BROAD OCULOMOTOR DYSFUNCTION. FINALLY, TO THIS POINT, RESEARCH ON OCULOMOTOR FUNCTIONING AND ITS RELATIONSHIPS WITH SELF- EXPERIENCES ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED IN INDIVIDUALS AT RISK FOR PSYCHOSIS, PRIOR TO THE EMERGENCE OF THRESHOLD SYMPTOMS. THE CURRENT PROPOSAL WILL ADDRESS THESE QUESTIONS USING AN INVESTIGATION OF SMOOTH PURSUIT, PREDICTIVE PURSUIT, AND DOUBLE-STEP EYE MOVEMENTS IN INDIVIDUALS AT A CLINICAL HIGH RISK FOR PSYCHOSIS (AIM 1). RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OCULOMOTOR IMPAIRMENT, IN PARTICULAR REDUCED INFLUENCE OF COROLLARY DISCHARGE SIGNALS, AND ANOMALOUS SELF-EXPERIENCES IN ADDITION TO PSYCHOSIS RISK SYMPTOMS AND ONE-YEAR FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES WILL BE INVESTIGATED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE PROPOSED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OCULOMOTOR DYSFUNCTION, SELFHOOD EXPERIENCES, AND PSYCHOSIS RISK ARE SUPPORTED IN THE CLINICAL HIGH RISK PHASE (AIM 2). TRAINING PLAN: AN EXTENSIVE TRAINING PLAN HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO ENABLE THE APPLICANT TO EFFECTIVELY COMPLETE THE PROJECT. THROUGH COURSEWORK, COLLOQUIA/CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE, WORKSHOPS, AND WEEKLY MEETINGS WITH THE SPONSORS, THE APPLICANT WILL DEVELOP THEORETICAL EXPERTISE IN OCULOMOTOR PATHOLOGY IN PSYCHOSIS RISK, AS WELL AS SPECIALIZED SKILLS IN THE ASSESSMENT OF COROLLARY DISCHARGE, IN ADDITION TO LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. THIS TRAINING PLAN WAS DESIGNED TO FACILITATE THE APPLICANT'S CAREER ASPIRATIONS AS A RESEARCH SCIENTIST WITH THE SOUND THEORETICAL FOUNDATION AND METHODOLOGICAL EXPERTISE NECESSARY TO CONDUCT HER OWN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM. TRAINING ENVIRONMENT: THE PROJECT WILL TAKE PLACE AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, AN IDEAL TRAINING ENVIRONMENT GIVEN THE ACCESSIBILITY TO CUTTING-EDGE RESOURCES, EQUIPMENT, AND COURSEWORK AT THE SITE. FURTHER, BOTH THE SPONSOR AND CO-SPONSOR ARE LOCATED AT THE INSTITUTION AND ARE EXPERTS IN THE THEORY AND METHODS NEEDED TO MEET THE APPLICANT'S TRAINING AIMS.