Neurocognitive Development in Adolescent Offspring at Familial High Risk of Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder and a...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Neurocognitive development trajectories in youth at familial high risk for schizophrenia (FHR-SZ) or bipolar disorder (FHR-BP) are understudied.
• Understanding these trajectories is crucial for early identification and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare neurocognitive development in FHR-SZ, FHR-BP, and population-based control (PBC) groups at ages 7, 11, and 15.
• To identify distinct developmental trajectories associated with familial risk for severe mental illness.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, nationwide cohort study (Danish High Risk and Resilience Study).
• Neurocognitive assessment at ages 7, 11, and 15 using a comprehensive battery.
• Mixed-effects models to analyze developmental trajectories across intelligence, processing speed, attention, memory, planning, verbal fluency, and set-shifting.

Main Results:

• FHR-SZ offspring exhibited a developmental lag in processing speed (ages 11-15) and cross-sectional deficits at age 15 in multiple domains compared to PBC.
• FHR-SZ youth performed worse than FHR-BP youth in verbal working memory at age 15.
• FHR-BP offspring showed normative development, with a cross-sectional deficit in semantic verbal fluency at age 15.

Conclusions:

• FHR-SZ youth display aberrant neurocognitive development, while FHR-BP youth largely follow normal trajectories with emerging semantic verbal fluency deficits.
• Distinct neurocognitive trajectories may serve as predictors for conversion to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
• Further research is warranted to explore these predictive relationships.