Familial Risk for Schizophrenia vs Bipolar Disorder and Task-Based Neural Activation: A functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Meta-Analysis.

Background And Hypothesis: Individuals at familial risk for developing schizophrenia (FRSZ) or bipolar disorder (FRBD) have shared and unique genetic risks. Few studies have compared neural activation between these two groups. Therefore, the present meta-analysis investigated functional brain similarities and differences between FRSZ and FRBD individuals.

Age-dependent effects of schizophrenia genetic risk on cortical thickness and cortical surface area: Evaluating evidence for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative models of schizophrenia.

Risk for schizophrenia peaks during early adulthood, a critical period for brain development. Although several influential theoretical models have been proposed for the developmental relationship between brain pathology and clinical onset, to our knowledge, no study has directly evaluated the predictions of these models for schizophrenia developmental genetic effects on brain structure. To address this question, we introduce a framework to estimate the effects of schizophrenia genetic variation on brain structure phenotypes across the life span.

Age-dependent patterns of schizophrenia genetic risk affect cognition.

Cognition shares substantial genetic overlap with schizophrenia, yet it remains unclear whether such genetic effects become significant during developmental periods of elevated risk for schizophrenia, such as the peak age of onset. We introduce an investigative framework integrating epidemiological, developmental, and genetic approaches to determine whether genetic effects shared between schizophrenia and cognition are significant across periods of differing risk for schizophrenia onset, and whether these effects are shared with depression. 771 European-American participants, including 636 (ages 15-84 years) from families with at least two first-degree relatives with schizophrenia and 135 unrelated controls, were divided into three age-risk groups based on ages relative to epidemiological age of onset patterns for schizophrenia: Pre-Peak (before peak age-of-onset: 15 to 22 years), Post-Peak (after peak age-of-onset: 23-42 years), and Plateau (during plateau of age-of-onset: over 42 years).

Why does age of onset predict clinical severity in schizophrenia? A multiplex extended pedigree study.

Schizophrenia has substantial variation in symptom severity, course of illness, and overall functioning. Earlier age of onset (AOO) is consistently associated with negative outcomes and yet the causes of this association are still unknown. We used a multiplex, extended pedigree design (total N = 771; 636 relatives from 43 multigenerational families with at least 2 relatives diagnosed with schizophrenia and 135 matched controls) to examine among the schizophrenia relatives (N = 103) the relationship between AOO and negative and positive symptom severity, cognition, and community functioning.

A Quantitative Meta-analysis of Olfactory Dysfunction in Epilepsy.

Olfactory dysfunction in epilepsy is well-documented in several olfactory domains. However, the clinical specificity of these deficits remains unknown. The aim of this systematic meta-analysis was to determine which domains of olfactory ability were most impaired in individuals with epilepsy, and to assess moderating factors affecting olfactory ability.

Alterations in white matter microstructure in individuals at persistent risk for psychosis.

Abnormalities in brain white matter (WM) are reported in youth at-risk for psychosis. Yet, the neurodevelopmental time course of these abnormalities remains unclear. Thus, longitudinal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was used to investigate WM abnormalities in youth at-risk for psychosis.

Social aversive conditioning in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis and with psychosis: An ERP study.

Background: Social cognition and emotion processing are compromised in schizophrenia. Disruptions in these domains may also be present during the psychosis-risk state. Aversive conditioning is an established translational research paradigm to investigate affective reactivity and learning.

Modular Segregation of Structural Brain Networks Supports the Development of Executive Function in Youth.

The human brain is organized into large-scale functional modules that have been shown to evolve in childhood and adolescence. However, it remains unknown whether the underlying white matter architecture is similarly refined during development, potentially allowing for improvements in executive function. In a sample of 882 participants (ages 8-22) who underwent diffusion imaging as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, we demonstrate that structural network modules become more segregated with age, with weaker connections between modules and stronger connections within modules.