Striatal volumes and dyskinetic movements in youth at high-risk for psychosis

Mittal, Vijay A.; Daley, Melita; Shiode, Marisa F.; Bearden, Carrie E.; O'Neill, Joseph; Cannon, Tyrone D.

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2010.08.002

« Previous Next »Schizophrenia Research
Volume 123, Issue 1 , Pages 68-70, October 2010

Striatal volumes and dyskinetic movements in youth at high-risk for psychosis

Vijay A. Mittal
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, United States
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, 345 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0345, United States. Tel.: +1 310 923 2882; fax: +1 303 492 2967.
Melita Daley
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
Marisa F. Shiode
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
Carrie E. Bearden
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
Joseph O'Neill
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
Tyrone D. Cannon
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, United States

Received 28 June 2010; received in revised form 30 July 2010; accepted 3 August 2010. published online 23 August 2010.

Abstract

Although dyskinesias may be one of the first behavioral indicators of progressive striatal dysfunction, a mechanism critically implicated in the pathogenesis of psychotic disorders, little is known about the association between striatal structures and abnormal movements in high-risk populations. Thirty participants with a prodromal syndrome were rated for dyskinetic movements and underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Volumes of striatal brain structures were delineated. Elevated hyperkinetic movements were found to be associated with smaller putamen and results were replicated in the antipsychotic naïve portion of the sample. Participants who converted over a 2-year follow-up period showed significantly smaller striatal volumes and a trend towards elevated dyskinetic movements, relative to those who did not convert. Movement abnormalities may reflect a striatal pathology that is present before formal psychosis onset, and potentially reflective of a heightened vulnerability for conversion.

Keywords: Prodromal, Dyskinesia, Putamen, Caudate, Conversion, Psychosis