OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate both the independent and joint effects of genetic risk and clinical status on neurocognitive functioning in adolescents from a population isolate with an elevated risk for schizophrenia and strong familial aggregation of cases. METHOD: The subjects were 310 non-help seeking, drug-naïve adolescents 14-19 years of age from the Republic of Palau. The sample comprised 98 Genetically High Risk (GHR) adolescents, 54 of whom were symptomatic, and 212 Genetically Low Risk (GLR) adolescents, including 113 Clinically High Risk (CHR) subjects who were symptomatic and 99 normal controls who were non-symptomatic. Neurocognitive testing was conducted after the clinical assessment and included Wechsler Memory Scale tests of logical, visual and working memory, the perceptual organization and processing speed subtests of the WISC-III, CPT-IP measures of sustained attention, and tests of fine and gross neuromotor function. RESULTS: GHR adolescents showed impairments in immediate logical memory, verbal working memory, CPT-IP performance, and fine motor skills. The only two cognitive components influenced by the presence of early psychosis symptoms were WISC-III perceptual organization and spatial working memory. Neurocognitive deficits did not increase with increasing levels of psychopathology. We found no significant interactive effects of genetic risk and clinical status on neurocognitive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic risk and clinical status exert independent effects on neurocognitive function in HR adolescents, and genetic risk has a broader impact than clinical status. Our results suggest that many of the neurocognitive impairments associated with early psychosis are genetically mediated and can occur in genetically vulnerable individuals regardless of their clinical status. However, visuospatial processing appears to be uniquely disrupted by emerging symptomatology.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate both the independent and joint effects of genetic risk and clinical status on neurocognitive functioning in adolescents from a population isolate with an elevated risk for schizophrenia and strong familial aggregation of cases. METHOD: The subjects were 310 non-help seeking, drug-naïve adolescents 14-19 years of age from the Republic of Palau. The sample comprised 98 Genetically High Risk (GHR) adolescents, 54 of whom were symptomatic, and 212 Genetically Low Risk (GLR) adolescents, including 113 Clinically High Risk (CHR) subjects who were symptomatic and 99 normal controls who were non-symptomatic. Neurocognitive testing was conducted after the clinical assessment and included Wechsler Memory Scale tests of logical, visual and working memory, the perceptual organization and processing speed subtests of the WISC-III, CPT-IP measures of sustained attention, and tests of fine and gross neuromotor function. RESULTS:GHR adolescents showed impairments in immediate logical memory, verbal working memory, CPT-IP performance, and fine motor skills. The only two cognitive components influenced by the presence of early psychosis symptoms were WISC-III perceptual organization and spatial working memory. Neurocognitive deficits did not increase with increasing levels of psychopathology. We found no significant interactive effects of genetic risk and clinical status on neurocognitive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic risk and clinical status exert independent effects on neurocognitive function in HR adolescents, and genetic risk has a broader impact than clinical status. Our results suggest that many of the neurocognitive impairments associated with early psychosis are genetically mediated and can occur in genetically vulnerable individuals regardless of their clinical status. However, visuospatial processing appears to be uniquely disrupted by emerging symptomatology.
Authors: Larry J Seidman; Anthony J Giuliano; Eric C Meyer; Jean Addington; Kristin S Cadenhead; Tyrone D Cannon; Thomas H McGlashan; Diana O Perkins; Ming T Tsuang; Elaine F Walker; Scott W Woods; Carrie E Bearden; Bruce K Christensen; Keith Hawkins; Robert Heaton; Richard S E Keefe; Robert Heinssen; Barbara A Cornblatt Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 2010-06
Authors: Christoph U Correll; Marta Hauser; Andrea M Auther; Barbara A Cornblatt Journal: J Child Psychol Psychiatry Date: 2010-02-26 Impact factor: 8.982
Authors: Nicole R Karcher; Deanna M Barch; Shelli Avenevoli; Mark Savill; Rebekah S Huber; Tony J Simon; Ingrid N Leckliter; Kenneth J Sher; Rachel L Loewy Journal: JAMA Psychiatry Date: 2018-08-01 Impact factor: 21.596
Authors: Valentin Markov; Axel Krug; Sören Krach; Andreas Jansen; Thomas Eggermann; Karl Zerres; Tony Stöcker; N Jon Shah; Markus M Nöthen; Jens Treutlein; Marcella Rietschel; Tilo Kircher Journal: Hum Brain Mapp Date: 2010-02 Impact factor: 5.038