No evidence for structural brain changes in young adolescents at ultra high risk for psychosis

Ziermans, Tim B.; Durston, Sarah; Sprong, Mirjam; Nederveen, Hilde; van Haren, Neeltje E.M.; Schnack, Hugo G.; Lahuis, Bertine E.; Schothorst, Patricia F.; van Engeland, Herman

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2009.04.013

« Previous Next »Schizophrenia Research
Volume 112, Issue 1 , Pages 1-6, July 2009

No evidence for structural brain changes in young adolescents at ultra high risk for psychosis

Tim B. Ziermans
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Corresponding author. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center, Heidelberglaan 100, HP A01.468, 3584 CX Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Sarah Durston
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
Mirjam Sprong
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
Hilde Nederveen
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
Neeltje E.M. van Haren
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
Hugo G. Schnack
- Department of Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
Bertine E. Lahuis
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
Patricia F. Schothorst
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands
Herman van Engeland
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands

Received 14 August 2008; received in revised form 7 April 2009; accepted 12 April 2009. published online 06 May 2009.

Abstract

Objective

The onset of psychosis is thought to be preceded by neurodevelopmental changes in the brain. However, the timing of these changes has not been established. We investigated structural brain changes in a sample of young adolescents (12–18 years) at ultra high-risk for psychosis (UHR).

Methods

Structural MRI data from young UHR subjects (n=54) and typically developing, matched controls (n=54) were acquired with a 1.5 Tesla scanner and compared.

Results

None of the measures differed between UHR subjects and controls.

Conclusions

Our results do not support the presence of gross neuroanatomical changes in young UHR subjects. This suggests that early changes are too subtle to detect with conventional imaging techniques. Therefore, changes observed in older cohorts may only onset later developmentally or occur secondary to prodromal symptoms.

Keywords: Psychosis, Ultra high risk, Adolescence, Structural MRI, Voxelbased morphometry, Neurodevelopment