Volatility priors may reveal delusion severity in schizophrenia

Expectations of environmental instability declined alongside delusional symptoms during 6 months following an acute psychotic episode.

Category	Detail
Condition	Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
Key Mechanisms	Volatility priors as a state-sensitive marker of delusional thinking
Target Population	Patients recovering from acute psychotic episodes
Care Setting	Psychiatric treatment settings

Higher volatility priors associated with greater delusion severity over 6 months
Patients with schizophrenia had elevated volatility priors compared to nonclinical participants
Clinician-rated delusion severity and self-reported paranoia decreased among patients
Volatility priors tracked paranoia and delusional ideation longitudinally
No significant associations found between volatility priors and depression or well-being

Assess delusional thought content in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

Evaluate changes in clinician-rated delusions and self-reported paranoia over time

Patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders experiencing acute psychotic episodes

Volatility priors may inform treatment strategies targeting delusions and paranoia

Utilize probabilistic reversal-learning tasks to assess volatility priors
Conduct longitudinal assessments to track changes in delusion severity and paranoia
Incorporate findings from computational psychiatry into clinical evaluations