Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 14, 2026
Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Cognitive control deficit in patients with first-episode schizophrenia is associated with complex deviations of early
Olivier Gay1, Marion Plaze1, Catherine Oppenheim1
1From the INSERM UMR 894, Centre de Psychiatrie & Neurosciences, CNRS GDR 3557, Institut de Psychiatrie, Paris, France (Gay, Plaze, Oppenheim, Gaillard, Olié, Krebs, Cachia); the Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France (Gay, Plaze, Oppenheim, Gaillard, Olié, Krebs, Cachia); the Service Hospitalo-Universitaire, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, Paris, France (Gay, Plaze, Gaillard, Olié, Krebs); the Service d'Imagerie Morphologique et Fonctionnelle, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, Paris, France (Oppenheim); the CNRS UMR 8240, Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l'Éducation de l'Enfant, Paris, France (Cachia); and the Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France (Cachia).
Background:
Several clinical and radiological markers of early neurodevelopmental deviations have been independently associated with cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia. The aim of our study was to test the cumulative and/or interactive effects of these early neurodevelopmental factors on cognitive control (CC) deficit, a core feature of schizophrenia.
Methods:
We recruited patients with first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, who underwent structural MRI. We evaluated CC efficiency using the Trail Making Test (TMT). Several markers of early brain development were measured: neurological soft signs (NSS), handedness, sulcal pattern of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and ventricle enlargement.
Results:
We included 41 patients with schizophrenia in our analysis, which revealed a main effect of ACC morphology (p = 0.041) as well as interactions between NSS and ACC morphology (p = 0.005), between NSS and handedness (p = 0.044) and between ACC morphology and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume (p = 0.005) on CC measured using the TMT-B score - the TMT-A score.
Limitations:
No 3- or 4-way interactions were detected between the 4 neurodevelopmental factors. The sample size was clearly adapted to detect main effects and 2-way interactions, but may have limited the statistical power to investigate higher-order interactions. The effects of treatment and illness duration were limited as the study design involved only patients with first-episode psychosis.
Conclusion:
To our knowledge, our study provides the first evidence of cumulative and interactive effects of different neurodevelopmental markers on CC efficiency in patients with schizophrenia. Such findings, in line with the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia, support the notion that CC impairments in patients with schizophrenia may be the final common pathway of several early neurodevelopmental mechanisms.
More Related Videos
05:52Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
13:08Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Related Concept Videos
01:29Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin...
01:27Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within...
01:29Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
01:30Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
01:30Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes...
01:17Schizophrenia