Reliance on Prior Expectations in Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Perceptual Tasks
Chantal Miller-Silva, Benjamin Jg Illingworth, Kirsten Martey, Tamara Mujirishvili, Franciska De Beer, Dan Siskind, Graham K. Murray
scientific journals March 31, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.64898/2026.03.31.26349835 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review |
|---|---|
| Key findings | Studies on predictive processing in psychosis often present conflicting results, and single-task findings with modest sample sizes are frequently used to advance a theory of generalized altered prior reliance in psychosis. |
Abstract
Background The highly influential predictive processing theory of psychosis posits that symptoms arise from imbalances in the weighting of predictions (priors) and sensory evidence. Despite this theory’s increasing prominence, studies often present conflicting results. This is particularly problematic as findings from single tasks with modest sample sizes are frequently used to advance a theory for a generalised altered reliance on priors in psychosis.