Progressive Brain Changes Associated with Persistent Negative Symptoms Following a First Episode of Psychosis

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S15-S15
Author(s):  
M. Lepage ◽  
M. Carolina ◽  
B. Michael ◽  
C. Mallar ◽  
J. Ridha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Morphometric Analyses ◽  
Mri Scans ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Persistent Negative Symptoms

Early persistent negative symptoms (ePNS) refer to the presence of potentially idiopathic or primary negative symptoms and have been observed following a first episode of psychosis (FEP). There is evidence for cortical changes associated with ePNS and given that a FEP often occurs during a period of ongoing brain development and maturation, neuroanatomical changes may have a specific age related component. The current study examined cortical thickness (CT), hippocampal/amygdala volume and shape as a function of clinical trajectories and age using longitudinal structural imaging in FEP. T1-MRI scans were acquired for early (n = 21), secondary (n = 30), non-(n = 44) PNS patients with a FEP, and controls (n = 44). Cortical thickness and amygdalar–hippocampal volumes and surface area (SA) metrics were extracted from three time points over a two-year period. Linear mixed models were applied to test for a main effect of group, and age group interactions. Relative to the other groups, ePNS patients showed cortical thinning over time in temporal regions and a thickening with age primarily in prefrontal areas. They also exhibited reduced left amygdalar and right hippocampal volumes. Morphometry revealed decreased surface area in ePNS compared to other groups in left central amygdala. The current study demonstrates that FEP patients with ePNS show significantly different CT trajectories with age. Increased CT may be indicative of disruptions in cortical maturation processes within higher-order brain regions. Amygdalar-hippocampal changes with age are also linked to ePNS with converging results from volumetric and morphometric analyses. Taken together, these results could represent dynamic endophenotypes setting these ePNS patients apart from their non-symptomatic peers.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Cortical thickness and surface area correlates with cognitive dysfunction among first-episode psychosis patients

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 2145-2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Haring ◽  
A. Müürsepp ◽  
R. Mõttus ◽  
P. Ilves ◽  
K. Koch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structure Function ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Brain Mri ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
First Episode Psychosis ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Episode Psychosis

BackgroundIn studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), some have reported specific brain structure–function relationships among first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, but findings are inconsistent. We aimed to localize the brain regions where cortical thickness (CTh) and surface area (cortical area; CA) relate to neurocognition, by performing an MRI on participants and measuring their neurocognitive performance using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), in order to investigate any significant differences between FEP patients and control subjects (CS).MethodExploration of potential correlations between specific cognitive functions and brain structure was performed using CANTAB computer-based neurocognitive testing and a vertex-by-vertex whole-brain MRI analysis of 63 FEP patients and 30 CS.ResultsSignificant correlations were found between cortical parameters in the frontal, temporal, cingular and occipital brain regions and performance in set-shifting, working memory manipulation, strategy usage and sustained attention tests. These correlations were significantly dissimilar between FEP patients and CS.ConclusionsSignificant correlations between CTh and CA with neurocognitive performance were localized in brain areas known to be involved in cognition. The results also suggested a disrupted structure–function relationship in FEP patients compared with CS.

Conceptual disorganization and redistribution of resting state cortical hubs in untreated first episode psychosis: A 7T MRI study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avyarthana Dey ◽  
Kara Dempster ◽  
Michael Mackinley ◽  
Peter Jeon ◽  
Tushar Das ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Superior Temporal Gyrus ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
First Episode Psychosis ◽  
Cortical Reorganization ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Formal Thought Disorder ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Episode Psychosis ◽  
Positive And Negative Symptoms

Background:Network level dysconnectivity has been studied in positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Conceptual disorganization (CD) is a symptom subtype which predicts impaired real-world functioning in psychosis. Systematic reviews have reported aberrant connectivity in formal thought disorder, a construct related to CD. However, no studies have investigated whole-brain functional correlates of CD in psychosis. We sought to investigate brain regions explaining the severity of CD in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEPs) compared with healthy controls (HCs).Methods:We computed whole-brain binarized degree centrality maps of 31 FEPs, 25 HCs and characterized the patterns of network connectivity in the two groups. In FEPs, we related these findings to the severity of CD. We also studied the effect of positive and negative symptoms on altered network connectivity.Results:Compared to HCs, reduced hubness of a right superior temporal gyrus (rSTG) cluster was observed in the FEPs. In patients exhibiting high CD, increased hubness of a medial superior parietal (mSPL) cluster was observed, compared to patients exhibiting low CD. These two regions were strongly correlated with CD scores but not with other symptom scores.Discussion:Our observations are congruent with previous findings of reduced but not increased hubness. We observed increased hubness of mSPL suggesting that cortical reorganization occurs to provide alternate routes for information transfer.Conclusion:These findings provide insight into the underlying neural processes mediating the presentation of symptoms in untreated FEP. A longitudinal tracking of the symptom course will be useful to assess the mechanisms underlying these compensatory changes.

Early psychosis in young women

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S7-S7
Author(s):  
A. Riecher-Rössler
Keyword(s):  
Young Women ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Drug Naïve ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
The University

IntroductionIt is well known that young women are at lower risk for schizophrenic psychoses than young men. However, little is known about the peculiarities of emerging psychosis in young women.ObjectivesTo describe characteristics of emerging psychosis in women.MethodsWithin the FePsy (Früherkennung von Psychosen = early detection of psychosis) study at the University of Basel Psychiatric Clinics we have examined consecutively all patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) or an at-risk mental state (ARMS) referred to us between 2000 and 2015.ResultsWomen did not significantly differ from men regarding psychopathology, neither in the ARMS nor in the FEP group. This was true for positive as well as negative symptoms and basic symptoms. Interestingly, women had a higher correlation of self-rating with observer-rating regarding psychotic symptoms. Duration of untreated psychosis was significantly lower in women than in men. Women seek help more quickly than men and their first contact is more often their partner.Regarding neurocognition women showed a slightly better performance in verbal tasks. They also had higher prolactin levels and larger pituitary volumes, even when drug-naive.Transition to psychosis occurred as often and as quickly in women as in men.ConclusionsThere are only few gender differences in patients with emerging psychosis, which resemble mainly those found in the general population, with women showing a better help-seeking behavior, being more partner-oriented, having a better verbal performance and potentially also a higher stress reactivity [1].Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Linking persistent negative symptoms to amygdala–hippocampus structure in first-episode psychosis

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e1195-e1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Makowski ◽  
M Bodnar ◽  
J J Shenker ◽  
A K Malla ◽  
R Joober ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
First Episode Psychosis ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Episode Psychosis ◽  
Persistent Negative Symptoms

scholarly journals T123. PERSISTENT NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS IN FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS: PREVALENCE, PREDICTORS AND PROGNOSIS

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S163-S163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Austin ◽  
Carsten Hjorthøj ◽  
Ole Mors ◽  
Rikke Gry Secher ◽  
Pia Jeppesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
First Episode Psychosis ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Episode Psychosis ◽  
Persistent Negative Symptoms

scholarly journals Beyond the average brain: individual differences in social brain development are associated with friendship quality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrik I Becht ◽  
Lara M Wierenga ◽  
Kathryn L Mills ◽  
Rosa Meuwese ◽  
Anna van Duijvenvoorde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Brain Development ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Friendship Quality ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Structural Development ◽  
Quality Development ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction

Abstract We tested whether adolescents differ from each other in the structural development of the social brain and whether individual differences in social brain development predicted variability in friendship quality development. Adolescents (N = 299, Mage T1 = 13.98 years) were followed across three biannual waves. We analysed self-reported friendship quality with the best friend at T1 and T3, and bilateral measures of surface area and cortical thickness of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and precuneus across all waves. At the group level, growth curve models confirmed non-linear decreases of surface area and cortical thickness in social brain regions. We identified substantial individual differences in levels and change rates of social brain regions, especially for surface area of the mPFC, pSTS and TPJ. Change rates of cortical thickness varied less between persons. Higher levels of mPFC surface area and cortical thickness predicted stronger increases in friendship quality over time. Moreover, faster cortical thinning of mPFC surface area predicted a stronger increase in friendship quality. Higher levels of TPJ cortical thickness predicted lower friendship quality. Together, our results indicate heterogeneity in social brain development and how this variability uniquely predicts friendship quality development.

Brain Cortical Thickness and Surface Area Correlates of Neurocognitive Performance in Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Healthy Adults

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1080-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.B. Hartberg ◽  
K. Sundet ◽  
L.M. Rimol ◽  
U.K. Haukvik ◽  
E.H. Lange ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Neurocognitive Functioning ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Mri Scans

AbstractRelationships between cortical brain structure and neurocognitive functioning have been reported in schizophrenia, but findings are inconclusive, and only a few studies in bipolar disorder have addressed this issue. This is the first study to directly compare relationships between cortical thickness and surface area with neurocognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia (n = 117) and bipolar disorder (n = 121) and healthy controls (n = 192). MRI scans were obtained, and regional cortical thickness and surface area measurements were analyzed for relationships with test scores from 6 neurocognitive domains. In the combined sample, cortical thickness in the right rostral anterior cingulate was inversely related to working memory, and cortical surface area in four frontal and temporal regions were positively related to neurocognitive functioning. A positive relationship between left transverse temporal thickness and processing speed was specific to schizophrenia. A negative relationship between right temporal pole thickness and working memory was specific to bipolar disorder. In conclusion, significant cortical structure/function relationships were found in a large sample of healthy controls and patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The differences that were found between schizophrenia and bipolar may indicate differential relationship patterns in the two disorders, which may be of relevance for understanding the underlying pathophysiology. (JINS, 2011, 17, 1080–1093)

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