Auditory acuity and musical ability in young adults with high schizotypal traits.

Background: Despite auditory cognition dysfunction being consistently found in people with schizophrenia, the evidence from non-clinical individuals with schizotypy is rare and inconsistent. No studies thus far have comprehensively assessed the association among auditory perception, musical cognition, and schizotypy in non-clinical samples.

Aim: We aimed to explore abnormalities in auditory skills, from basic perception to musical ability, among individuals with schizotypal traits.

Method: An extreme-group design was adopted. Sixty-six participants from the schizotypy and control groups were screened from 1093 young adults using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Auditory acuity was assessed using four auditory discrimination threshold tests, and musical ability was evaluated through the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA). Basic demographic information and musical backgrounds were assessed and matched, and depression, anxiety, and digit-span index were evaluated and controlled.

Results: Elevated sensitivity in auditory perception and improved musical talent were found in young adults with high schizotypal traits. Auditory acuity and musical ability were positively correlated with schizotypy and its factors among participants across groups. A regression analysis in the control group showed that cognitive perceptual scores of SPQ positively predicted auditory temporal sensitivity. The mediation analysis revealed an indirect effect of pure tone duration discrimination between musical rhythmic ability and positive factor of schizotypy.

Discussion: Elevated sensitivity in auditory temporal perception and improved musical talent in young adults with high schizotypy may contribute to explaining the variation of auditory process in the development of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. It can also help elucidate the association between psychopathology and creativity in auditory modality.