Although some individuals with at-risk mental states (ARMS) develop overt psychosis, surrogate markers which can reliably predict a future onset of psychosis are not well established. The dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is thought to be involved in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. In this study, 73 ARMS patients and 74 healthy controls underwent 1.5-T 3D magnetic resonance imaging scans at three sites. Using labeled cortical distance mapping, cortical thickness, gray matter (GM) volume, and surface area of DLPFC were estimated. These measures were compared across the diagnostic groups. We also evaluated cognitive function among 36 ARMS subjects to clarify the relationships between the DLPFC morphology and cognitive performance. The GM volume of the right DLPFC was significantly reduced in ARMS subjects who later developed frank psychosis (ARMS-P) relative to those who did not (P = 0.042). There was a positive relationship between the right DLPFC volume and the duration prior to the onset of frank psychosis in ARMS-P subjects (r = 0.58, P = 0.018). Our data may suggest that GM reduction of the DLPFC might be a potential marker of future onset of psychosis in individuals with ARMS.© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
About The Expert
Yoichiro Takayanagi
Sue Kulason
Daiki Sasabayashi
Tsutomu Takahashi
Naoyuki Katagiri
Atsushi Sakuma
Noriyuki Ohmuro
Masahiro Katsura
Shimako Nishiyama
Mikio Kido
Atsushi Furuichi
Kyo Noguchi
Kazunori Matsumoto
Masafumi Mizuno
J Tilak Ratnanather
Michio Suzuki
References
PubMed