Effort-based decision-making impairment in patients with clinically-stabilized first-episode psychosis and its relationship with amotivation and psychosocial functioning.

Effort-based decision-making has recently been proposed as a potential mechanism contributing to motivational deficits (amotivation) in psychotic disorder. Previous research has identified altered effort allocation in chronic schizophrenia, but produced mixed results regarding its relationship with amotivation. No study has investigated effort allocation in first-episode psychosis (FEP).

Comparison of cognitive functions between first-episode schizophrenia patients, their unaffected siblings and individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and has been observed in both familial (FHR) and clinical high-risk (CHR) samples. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research directly contrasting cognitive profiles in these two high-risk states and first-episode schizophrenia. This study aimed to compare cognitive functions in patients with first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (FES), their unaffected siblings (FHR), CHR individuals and healthy controls.

Patterns and predictors of trajectories for social and occupational functioning in patients presenting with first-episode non-affective psychosis: A three-year follow-up study.

Background: Functional impairment is prevalent in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Longitudinal course of functioning in the early stage of psychotic illness is under-studied. In this report, we aimed to investigate the patterns and baseline predictors of social-occupational functional trajectories over 3 years, utilizing growth mixture modeling (GMM) analysis, in a large representative Chinese young FEP cohort in Hong Kong.