Digital phenotyping correlates of cognitive performance in schizophrenia spectrum disorders from a longitudinal study

Cognitive deficits across social and nonsocial domains are central to functional impairment in schizophrenia. While these deficits are traditionally assessed through neuropsychological testing, recent advancements in smartphone sensor-driven digital phenotyping offer a novel approach for continuous, real-time monitoring of daily behaviors that can be reflective of latent cognitive functioning. We examined the relationship between such digital phenotyping metrics like home-time, screen-duration, and entropy, and social and nonsocial cognitive functioning in 50 participants — 25 diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 25 healthy comparison participants. Passive data were captured using the MindLAMP app over 12 months. At the same time, cognitive assessments were conducted at baseline, 6, and 12 months using the Social Cognition Rating Tool in Indian Setting and Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia. We found that greater home-time at baseline and six months was associated with poorer social cognition (faux-pas recognition) at those assessment time points. We also observed that first-month or baseline home-time was associated with subsequent faux-pas recognition at the 6 and 12-month follow-ups. These findings highlight the potential for digital phenotyping markers, such as home-time, to serve as objective behavioral correlates of social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, offering opportunities for targeted interventions to improve functioning.