Historical perspectives on tardive dyskinesia.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a persistent hyperkinetic movement disorder associated with dopamine receptor blocking agents including antipsychotic medications. Although uncertainty and concern about this drug side effect have vacillated since its initial recognition 60 years ago, recent commercial interest in developing effective treatments has rekindled scientific and clinical interest after a protracted period of neglect. Although substantial research has advanced knowledge of the clinical features and epidemiology of TD, many fundamental questions raised by early investigators remain unresolved.

Individualized prediction of psychosis in subjects with an at-risk mental state.

Early intervention strategies in psychosis would significantly benefit from the identification of reliable prognostic biomarkers. Pattern classification methods have shown the feasibility of an early diagnosis of psychosis onset both in clinical and familial high-risk populations. Here we were interested in replicating our previous classification findings using an independent cohort at clinical high risk for psychosis, drawn from the prospective FePsy (Fruherkennung von Psychosen) study.

Improved individualized prediction of schizophrenia in subjects at familial high risk, based on neuroanatomical data, schizotypal and neurocognitive features.

To date, there are no reliable markers for predicting onset of schizophrenia in individuals at high risk (HR). Substantial promise is, however, shown by a variety of pattern classification approaches to neuroimaging data. Here, we examined the predictive accuracy of support vector machine (SVM) in later diagnosing schizophrenia, at a single-subject level, using a cohort of HR individuals drawn from multiply affected families and a combination of neuroanatomical, schizotypal and neurocognitive variables.

Towards the identification of imaging biomarkers in schizophrenia, using multivariate pattern classification at a single-subject level.

Standard univariate analyses of brain imaging data have revealed a host of structural and functional brain alterations in schizophrenia. However, these analyses typically involve examining each voxel separately and making inferences at group-level, thus limiting clinical translation of their findings. Taking into account the fact that brain alterations in schizophrenia expand over a widely distributed network of brain regions, univariate analysis methods may not be the most suited choice for imaging data analysis.

DISC1 in schizophrenia: genetic mouse models and human genomic imaging.

Schizophrenia and related disorders have a major genetic component. Several large-scale studies have uncovered a number of possible candidate genes, but these have yet to be consistently replicated and their underlying biological function remains elusive. One exception is 'Disrupted in schizophrenia 1' (DISC1), a gene locus originally identified in a large Scottish family, showing a heavy burden of major mental illnesses associated with a balanced t(1;11)(q42.

Dual task performance in early Alzheimer's disease, amnestic mild cognitive impairment and depression.

Background: The dual task paradigm (Baddeley et al. 1986; Della Sala et al. 1995) has been proposed as a sensitive measure of Alzheimer's dementia, early in the disease process.

Grey matter changes can improve the prediction of schizophrenia in subjects at high risk.

Background: We hypothesised that subjects at familial high risk of developing schizophrenia would have a reduction over time in grey matter, particularly in the temporal lobes, and that this reduction may predict schizophrenia better than clinical measurements.

Methods: We analysed magnetic resonance images of 65 high-risk subjects from the Edinburgh High Risk Study sample who had two scans a mean of 1.52 years apart.

Grey matter changes over time in high risk subjects developing schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia affects approximately 1% of the population and is associated with reductions in brain volume, but when these are first evident is unknown. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has demonstrated abnormalities of brain structure, particularly of the temporal lobes, in schizophrenia. A study of brain structure in individuals destined to develop schizophrenia, before they do so, is crucial to understanding the illness.