Table 1. Mechanistic findings in Psychiatry with Experience Sampling Method (ESM).

MECHANISM	EVIDENCE
MECHANISMS UNDERLYING TREATMENT RESPONSE AND PROGNOSIS	In depression, baseline Reward Experience (momentary positive affective response to positive events) and baseline negative affect variability (variability in momentary negative affective response to negative events) in the ESM paradigm predict outcome, independent of conventional predictors [62]
	In antipsychotics with tight binding to the dopamine D2 receptor, increased levels of estimated D(2) receptor occupancy is associated with decreased feelings of momentary positive affect (PA) and increased feelings of negative affect (NA) in the ESM paradigm [63]
	In depression, early change in positive rather than negative emotions in the ESM paradigm best predicted response to treatment, over and above changes in traditional rating scales (eg Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) [64]
	In depression, future response to treatment was associated with altered baseline dynamics between NA and PA in the ESM paradigm: daily life boosts of PA were followed by a stronger suppression of NA over subsequent hours than in other depressed groups or controls [65]
	Remission criteria for schizophrenia are manifested in daily life as fewer instances of momentary aberrant salience, better momentary mood states and partial recovery of momentary reward experience (positive momentary affective response to momentary positive events)
	Depression treatment with Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy is mediated by increased experience of momentary positive emotions as well as greater appreciation of, and enhanced responsiveness to, pleasant daily-life activities in the ESM paradigm [66]
	Response to antidepressant medication is mediated by increase in Reward Experience (momentary positive affective response to positive events) rather than reduction in Stress-Sensitivity (momentary negative affective response to negative events) [67]
	The therapeutic effect of physical activity on mood is mediated by momentary increases in positive affect rather than reduction in negative affect in the ESM paradigm [68]
MECHANISMS UNDERLYING SYMPTOMS	Formation of clinically detectable psychotic symptoms is associated with alterations in the level of momentary transfer of momentary experience of aberrant salience in the ESM paradigm, in interaction with momentary emotional factors [41]
	Onset of psychotic symptoms is mediated in part by the tendency to develop momentary aberrant salience after momentary increases in negative affect in the ESM daily life paradigm [37]
	Paranoid delusionality is driven by momentary negative emotions and reductions in momentary self-esteem in the ESM paradigm [36], and interactions between genetic liability and momentary stressful events in the flow of daily life [69]
	Onset of depressive symptoms is predicted by baseline stress sensitivity (momentary negative affective response to momentary stressful events) in the ESM paradigm [70]
	The construct of negative schizotypy is associated with underlying momentary mental states and ecological interactions in the ESM paradigm, including decreased momentary positive affect and pleasure in daily life, increased momentary negative affect, and decreases in momentary social contact and interest [71]
	The construct of negative symptoms in schizophrenia does not translate to altered emotional processing in the ESM paradigm: Lower rather than higher levels of negative symptoms were associated with a pattern of emotional processing in daily life which was different from healthy controls [72]
MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS	Exposure to early trauma increases sensitivity to stress in daily life, both in terms of emotional response (momentary negative affective response to momentary stressful events in daily life) and aberrant salience response (momentary psychotic response to momentary stressful events in daily life) [52] [73], [74]. The pathway from childhood adversity to psychotic symptoms may be potentiated by genetic liability for depression, impacting on dysfunctional emotional processing of anomalous experiences associated with childhood trauma [75].
	Growing up in an urban environment is not associated with enhanced sensitivity to stress in the flow of daily life [76]
	The psychotogenic effects of cannabis are mediated by induction of momentary experiences of aberrant salience in the flow of daily life [77]
	The influence of major Life Events (LE) on onset of psychotic disorder is mediated by the cumulative impact on LE on momentary stress sensitivity in the ESM paradigm (momentary negative affective response to momentary stress) [78]
MECHANISMS UNDERLYINGGENETIC RISK FACTORS	Genetic effects in depression are mediated by increased momentary negative affective responses to momentary stress in the flow of daily life [79].
	Momentary positive emotions in the ESM paradigm attenuate genetic effects on negative mood bias in daily life [35].
	Vulnerability for psychotic disorder is associated, in the ESM paradigm, to both the momentary psychosis-inducing and the momentary mood-enhancing effects of cannabis [77], [80], whilst no differences exist in momentary craving for cannabis [81]
	Genetic risk for psychotic disorder is mediated in part by enhanced momentary aberrant salience in response to momentary stress in the flow of daily life [55], and enhanced momentary negative affective response to stress in daily life [34], [82], [83]
	Familial risk for psychotic disorder is expressed greater level of momentary transfer (or persistence) of experience of aberrant salience in the flow of daily life [41]
	Individuals at genetic risk for depression and psychotic disorder have a different diurnal cortisol profile than those without, suggesting that altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning is an indicator of susceptibility to depression and psychosis [84], [85]
MECHANISMS UNDERLYING PERSONALITY VARIATION	Borderline patients continually react stronger than patients with psychosis and healthy controls to small disturbances that continually happen in the natural flow of everyday life. Altered negative affective and aberrant salience stress reactivity may define borderline personality disorder [86], [87]
	Neuroticism as measured by Eysenck questionnaire may index an environmental risk for decreased daily life levels of PA, and a genetic as well as an environmental risk for increased NA variability. Decomposing the broad measure of neuroticism into measurable persons-context interactions increases its ‘informative’ value in explaining psychopathology [88]

PA = positive affect; NA = negative affect.