Dr Vijay Sharma over 6 years ago

🍂 Brain Patterns May Flag Risk for Schizophrenia⠀ ⠀ ▫️A specific pattern of brain circuitry may help predict whether patients at risk for psychosis will go on to develop schizophrenia, new imaging research suggests.⠀ ⠀ ▫️In a study of 182 patients deemed to be at clinical high risk for psychosis, findings from functional MRI (fMRI) scans indicated a significant association between increased connectivity in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical network at baseline and later development of the disorder.⠀ ▫️Investigators note that this display of "an intrinsic 'trait-like' abnormality in brain architecture" was more pronounced in patients who converted to schizophrenia than those who did not. The abnormality was also associated with symptoms of disorganization and was predictive of conversion time to psychosis.⠀ ▫️In a second patient sample, only those with a previous diagnosis of schizophrenia were found to have this pattern of hyperconnectivity. Those with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as their healthy peers, did not show this pattern.