Gender effects on brain changes in early-onset psychosis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Early-onset psychosis (EOP) is associated with progressive gray matter (GM) loss and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) expansion.
• Adolescence, the typical onset period for EOP, is characterized by distinct gender-specific brain development trajectories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gender differences in the progression of brain structural changes in adolescents with EOP.
• To compare longitudinal changes in regional GM and CSF volumes between male and female EOP patients and controls.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal anatomical brain imaging (MRI) was conducted at baseline and 2-year follow-up in 61 EOP adolescents and 70 controls.
• Automated methods using Talairach's proportional grid system quantified regional GM and CSF volumes.
• Statistical analyses compared baseline and longitudinal volumetric changes between genders and diagnostic groups.

Main Results:

• At baseline, male EOP patients exhibited smaller frontal lobe GM and larger CSF volumes compared to controls.
• Longitudinally, both male and female EOP patients showed significantly accelerated rates of left frontal lobe GM volume loss and CSF volume increase relative to controls.
• Despite initial gender-specific differences, the trajectory of brain changes in EOP became similar across genders over two years.

Conclusions:

• The progression of brain structural changes in early-onset psychosis follows a similar pattern in adolescent males and females, characterized by accelerated frontal lobe gray matter loss and cerebrospinal fluid expansion.
• While initial brain alterations at illness onset may differ by gender, the rate of change over time appears independent of sex.
• These findings suggest that gender does not fundamentally alter the neurobiological trajectory of progressive brain changes in EOP.