Aberrant predictive learning along the positive schizotypy - autistic traits continuum: evidence from ambiguous social information processing.

Researchers studied how 121 young adults process unclear social information. They found that people with more schizophrenia-like traits relied too heavily on their existing beliefs and had trouble adjusting when new information didn't match their expectations. Surprisingly, people with more autism-like traits didn't show the expected opposite pattern. This suggests different underlying brain processes may contribute to social difficulties in these conditions.

This study examined predictive learning differences between schizotypal and autistic traits in 121 healthy young adults (aged 17-25). Participants completed a social cue-outcome learning task and self-report measures for positive schizotypal traits and autistic traits. Using computational modeling, researchers found that higher positive schizotypal traits were associated with greater reliance on prior beliefs and reduced flexibility in updating predictions when processing ambiguous social information. However, the expected inverse pattern for autistic traits was not consistently observed.

The findings support the hyper-prior hypothesis of schizophrenia, suggesting that individuals with schizotypal traits may over-rely on existing expectations rather than adapting to new social information.

Findings suggest predictive coding frameworks may help differentiate social cognitive difficulties between schizophrenia spectrum and autism spectrum conditions. This could inform targeted intervention strategies, particularly for individuals showing schizotypal traits who may benefit from interventions focused on flexible belief updating and reduced over-reliance on prior expectations.

Study used only healthy young adults aged 17-25, limiting generalizability to clinical populations and other age groups. Relied on self-report measures rather than clinical diagnoses. The study design and specific methodological details are not fully described in the abstract.

Deficits in social information processing have been observed in both schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though the underlying mechanisms may differ. From a predictive coding perspective, such deficits are thought to arise from an overreliance on prior expectations in SSD, whereas individuals with ASD may exhibit difficulties in forming or using such expectations. However, very few studies have investigated the behavioral markers underlying social predictive learning along the ASD-SSD continuum. Using a novel cue-outcome associative learning task, this study examined how prior expectations influence the perception of ambiguous social information.

A total of 121 healthy participants (aged 17-25) completed the task, along with self-report measures of positive schizotypal (Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, SPQ; Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, CAPE) and autistic traits (Autism Spectrum Quotient, AQ). Computational modeling using the Hierarchical Gaussian Filter (HGF) and correlational analyses revealed that higher levels of positive schizotypal traits were associated with greater reliance on prior beliefs and reduced flexibility in updating prediction errors. In contrast, expected inverse associations for autistic traits were not consistently observed. These results support the hyper-prior hypothesis of schizophrenia and highlight aberrant predictive mechanisms in positive schizotypy.

The predictive coding framework might be useful for differentiating between SSD- and ASD-related social cognitive difficulties, with implications for targeted intervention strategies.