Exploring associations between psychotic experiences and structural brain age: a population-based study in late...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Neuroimaging reveals accelerated brain aging in schizophrenia, but its link to subthreshold psychotic experiences (PE) in youth is unknown.
• Brain age, a marker of structural brain maturation, may offer insights into neurodevelopmental trajectories.
• Understanding brain age in relation to PE is crucial for early identification and intervention in at-risk youth.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between psychotic experiences (PE) and brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD) in late adolescence.
• To determine if individuals with PE exhibit advanced or delayed brain maturation compared to their chronological age.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a population-based sample of 117 adolescents with PE and 115 without PE (aged 19-21 years) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
• Estimated brain-PAD using a machine learning model based on region-wise T1-weighted grey-matter volumes.
• Adjusted for covariates including age, sex, parental social class, birth weight, maternal education, and childhood IQ.

Main Results:

• No significant association between PE and brain-PAD was found after adjusting for age and sex (Cohen's d = -0.21, p = 0.11).
• A small but significant association emerged, indicating lower brain-PAD (younger-appearing brain) in individuals with PE after adjusting for parental social class (Cohen's d = -0.31, p = 0.031) or birth weight (Cohen's d = -0.29, p = 0.038).
• Adjusting for maternal education or childhood IQ did not alter these primary findings.

Conclusions:

• The findings do not support the hypothesis of advanced brain aging in older adolescents with psychotic experiences.
• There is weak evidence suggesting a younger-appearing brain in adolescents with PE, potentially indicating subtle delays in structural brain maturation.
• Future research with larger, diverse samples and multimodal neuroimaging is needed to clarify the role of brain age as a marker for psychotic experiences in youth.