Processing speed and neurodevelopment in adolescent-onset psychosis: cognitive slowing predicts social function

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Adolescent neurodevelopment is critical, with disruptions potentially leading to psychosis onset.
• Adolescent onset psychosis (AOP) represents a significant neurodevelopmental challenge.
• Understanding the neurocognitive profile of AOP is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the neurocognitive profile of first-episode AOP patients with typically developing adolescents.
• To investigate age-related differences in neurocognitive performance between AOP cases and controls.
• To explore the relationship between neurocognitive deficits, functioning, and potential neurodevelopmental disruptions in AOP.

Main Methods:

• Administered a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to 35 first-episode AOP patients and 31 matched controls.
• Assessed social and role functioning at baseline and 1-year follow-up.
• Analyzed group-by-age interactions and the predictive role of processing speed on functioning.

Main Results:

• AOP patients exhibited impairments in verbal memory, sensorimotor dexterity, and cognitive processing speed compared to controls.
• Processing speed showed a significant group-by-age interaction, indicating aberrant development in AOP.
• Processing speed deficits predicted poorer social functioning one year later and accounted for variance in other cognitive deficits.

Conclusions:

• AOP patients do not exhibit normal age-related increases in processing speed, suggesting disrupted adolescent brain development.
• Impaired processing speed in AOP is linked to poorer functional outcomes.
• Aberrant neurodevelopmental processes, possibly including myelination, may underlie AOP.