Changes in negative symptoms are linked to white matter changes in superior longitudinal fasciculus in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

Aim: Growing evidence suggests that subtle white matter (WM) alterations are associated with psychopathology in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR). However, the longitudinal relationship between symptom progression and WM changes over time remains under-explored. Here, we examine associations between changes in clinical symptoms and changes in WM over six months in a large UHR-cohort.

Global fractional anisotropy predicts transition to psychosis after 12 months in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

Objective: Psychosis spectrum disorders are associated with cerebral changes, but the prognostic value and clinical utility of these findings are unclear. Here, we applied a multivariate statistical model to examine the predictive accuracy of global white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) for transition to psychosis in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR).

Methods: 110 UHR individuals underwent 3 Tesla diffusion-weighted imaging and clinical assessments at baseline, and after 6 and 12 months.

Generalized neurocognitive impairment in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis: The possible key role of slowed processing speed.

Objective: Widespread neurocognitive impairment is well-established in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for developing psychoses, but it is unknown whether slowed processing speed may underlie impairment in other neurocognitive domains, as found in schizophrenia. The study delineated domain functioning in a UHR sample and examined if neurocognitive slowing might account for deficits across domains.

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 50 UHR individuals with no (n = 38) or minimal antipsychotic exposure (n = 12; mean lifetime dose of haloperidol equivalent = 17.

Interview and questionnaire assessment of cognitive impairment in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis: Associations with cognitive test performance, psychosocial functioning, and positive symptoms.

Impaired cognitive test performance is well-documented in subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis. However, assessment of cognitive deficits as manifested in real life is a neglected area of UHR research that may add to the understanding of cognitive impairment and its relationship with psychosocial functioning and positive symptomatology. This study applied the interview-based Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS) and the questionnaire-based Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A) in a cross-sectional sample of 39 UHR subjects and 50 healthy controls.

No Effects of Cognitive Remediation on Cerebral White Matter in Individuals at Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis-A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) present with subtle alterations in cerebral white matter (WM), which appear to be associated with clinical and functional outcome. The effect of cognitive remediation on WM organization in UHR individuals has not been investigated previously.

Methods: In a randomized, clinical trial, UHR individuals aged 18 to 40 years were assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU plus cognitive remediation for 20 weeks.

Cognitive remediation plus standard treatment versus standard treatment alone for individuals at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis: Results of the FOCUS randomised clinical trial.

Background: Individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis have significant cognitive deficits that can impede functional recovery. Applying cognitive remediation (CR) before the onset of frank psychosis may improve the cognitive and functional prognosis of UHR individuals, however, little is known about the feasibility and efficacy of CR for this population.

Methods: In this randomised, clinical trial 146 individuals at UHR for psychosis aged 18-40 years were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU plus cognitive remediation.

Associations between facial affect recognition and neurocognition in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis: A case-control study.

The nature of facial affect recognition (FAR) deficits in subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis remains unclear. In schizophrenia, associations between FAR impairment and poor neurocognition have been demonstrated meta-analytically, but this potential link is understudied in the UHR population. Our study investigated a cross-sectional sample of UHR subjects (n = 22) and healthy controls (n = 50), with the Degraded Facial Affect Recognition (DFAR) Task and a neurocognitive test battery.

Cerebral Glutamate and Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Levels in Individuals at Ultra-high Risk for Psychosis and the Association With Clinical Symptoms and Cognition.

Background: Studies examining glutamate or gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) and the association with pathophysiology and cognition have shown conflicting results. We aimed to determine whether perturbed glutamate and GABA levels in the anterior cingulate cortex and glutamate levels in the left thalamus were present in UHR individuals and to investigate associations between metabolite levels and clinical symptoms and cognition.

Methods: We included 122 UHR individuals and 60 healthy control subjects.

Widespread higher fractional anisotropy associates to better cognitive functions in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

In schizophrenia patients, cognitive functions appear linked to widespread alterations in cerebral white matter microstructure. Here we examine patterns of associations between regional white matter and cognitive functions in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis. One hundred and sixteen individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis and 49 matched healthy controls underwent 3 T magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging and cognitive assessments.

Gender differences of patients at-risk for psychosis regarding symptomatology, drug use, comorbidity and functioning - Results from the EU-GEI study.

Background: Gender differences in symptomatology in chronic schizophrenia and first episode psychosis patients have often been reported. However, little is known about gender differences in those at risk of psychotic disorders. This study investigated gender differences in symptomatology, drug use, comorbidity (i.

Multiple measures of HPA axis function in ultra high risk and first-episode schizophrenia patients.

Introduction: Abnormalities within hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis might interact with other neurobiological systems to enhance the risk of psychosis. Most of the neurodevelopmental and HPA axis changes occur in adolescence; this is also the period when prodromal and psychotic symptoms occur for the first time. More knowledge about how various stress components interact can advance understanding of the link between psychosis and the HPA axis.

Social cognition in patients at ultra-high risk for psychosis: What is the relation to social skills and functioning?

Objective: Patients at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis show significant impairments in functioning. It is essential to determine which factors influence functioning, as it may have implications for intervention strategies. This study examined whether social cognitive abilities and clinical symptoms are associated with functioning and social skills.

Psychopathology and social functioning of 42 subjects from a Danish ultra high-risk cohort.

Aim: To make a thorough characterization of the co-morbidity, psychopathology and demographics in the first Danish ultra high-risk (UHR) sample.

Method: Forty-two UHR subjects went through comprehensive interviews assessing their psychopathology, psychiatric disorders, substance use and family history of psychiatric disorders.

Results: All UHR subjects met the criteria of at least 1 axis I diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and met on average four diagnoses (both axis I and II), mostly within the areas of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.

Premorbid adjustment in individuals at ultra-high risk for developing psychosis: a case-control study.

Aim: Deterioration in premorbid adjustment is related to ultra-high risk (UHR) individuals developing psychosis, but it has not been examined how UHR individuals' development differs compared to healthy controls. This study investigates differences in premorbid adjustment between UHR individuals and a healthy control group.

Method: A total of 48 UHR individuals and 50 healthy controls matched on group level for age, gender and parents' socio-economic status were included in the study.

Systemic oxidative DNA and RNA damage are not increased during early phases of psychosis: A case control study.

It has been suggested that patients with schizophrenia develop higher levels of oxidative stress, which may contribute to deteriorating mental illness. In order to examine oxidative stress in the early stages of severe mental illness, we examined the levels of systemic Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) oxidation, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine, perceived stress and recent life events in patients at ultra high-risk (UHR) of developing psychosis, in antipsychotic naïve patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES), and in healthy controls. We included 41 UHR patients, 35 FES patients, and 29 healthy controls.

The FOCUS trial: cognitive remediation plus standard treatment versus standard treatment for patients at ultra-high risk for psychosis: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Cognitive deficits are a distinct feature among people at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis and pose a barrier to functional recovery. Insufficient evidence exists on how to ameliorate these cognitive deficits in patients at UHR for psychosis and hence improve daily living and quality of life. The aim of the trial is to investigate whether cognitive remediation can improve cognitive and psychosocial function in patients at UHR for psychosis.