To evaluate serial bias in working memory among patients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder with a history of psychosis, and healthy controls.
Key Findings:
Patients with schizophrenia exhibited a repulsive serial bias in working memory.
Patients with bipolar disorder showed a mixed bias pattern, leaning towards the attractive bias seen in healthy controls.
Healthy controls displayed an attractive bias with no instances of repulsive bias.
Patients with schizophrenia had lower working memory precision compared to both bipolar disorder patients and healthy controls.
No significant association was found between antipsychotic medication dose and serial bias.
Interpretation:
The findings suggest fundamental differences in how recent experiences impact working memory in schizophrenia compared to bipolar disorder and healthy individuals, with potential neurobiological implications.
All schizophrenia patients were on antipsychotic treatment, raising questions about medication-naive populations.
Need for larger samples and alternative analytic approaches for deeper insights.
Conclusion:
Serial bias may serve as a biomarker for treatment development, highlighting the importance of targeting biologically defined subgroups in precision medicine.
