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Psychotic Like Experiences in Healthy Adolescents are Underpinned by Lower Fronto-Temporal Cortical Gyrification: a Study from the IMAGEN Consortium

Maitra, Raka, Horne, Charlotte M., O’Daly, Owen, Papanastasiou, Evangelos, Gaser, Christian, Banaschewski, Tobias, Barker, Gareth J., Bokde, Arun L. W., Desrivières, Sylvane, Flor, Herta, and others. (2023) Psychotic Like Experiences in Healthy Adolescents are Underpinned by Lower Fronto-Temporal Cortical Gyrification: a Study from the IMAGEN Consortium. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 49 (2). pp. 309-318. ISSN 0586-7614. (doi:10.1093/schbul/sbac132) (KAR id:111203)

Abstract

Background and Hypothesis

Psychotic Like Experiences (PLEs) are widely prevalent in children and adolescents and increase the risk of developing psychosis. Cortical gyrification characterizes brain development from in utero till about the first 2 years of life and can be measured in later years as static gyrification changes demonstrating neurodevelopment and dynamic gyrification changes reflecting brain maturation during adolescence. We hypothesized that PLEs would be associated with static cortical gyrification changes reflecting a neurodevelopmental abnormality.

Study Design

We studied 1252 adolescents recruited in the IMAGEN consortium. We used a longitudinal study design, with Magnetic Resonance Imaging measurements at age 14 years and age 19 years; measurement of PLEs using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) questionnaire at age 19 years; and clinical diagnoses at age 23 years.

Study Results

Our results show static gyrification changes in adolescents with elevated PLEs on 3 items of the CAPE—voice hearing, unusual experiences of receiving messages, and persecutory ideas—with lower cortical gyrification in fronto-temporal regions in the left hemisphere. This group also demonstrated dynamic gyrification changes with higher cortical gyrification in right parietal cortex in late adolescence; a finding that we replicated in an independent sample of patients with first-episode psychosis. Adolescents with high PLEs were also 5.6 times more likely to transition to psychosis in adulthood by age 23 years.

Conclusions

This is the largest study in adolescents that demonstrates fronto-temporal abnormality of cortical gyrification as a potential biomarker for vulnerability to PLEs and transition to psychosis.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/schbul/sbac132
Uncontrolled keywords: cortical gyrification, adolescence, psychotic like experiences, IMAGEN, MRI, psychosis
Subjects: R Medicine
Institutional Unit: Schools > Kent and Medway Medical School
Former Institutional Unit:
There are no former institutional units.
Funders: European Union (https://ror.org/019w4f821)
Medical Research Council (https://ror.org/03x94j517)
National Institutes of Health (https://ror.org/01cwqze88)
National Institute for Health Research (https://ror.org/0187kwz08)
Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (https://ror.org/04pz7b180)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (https://ror.org/018mejw64)
Medical Research Foundation (https://ror.org/05q2q3076)
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (https://ror.org/00rbzpz17)
Science Foundation Ireland (https://ror.org/0271asj38)
Fondation de France (https://ror.org/02zkxjz73)
Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (https://ror.org/04w6kn183)
Depositing User: Sukhwinder Singh Shergill
Date Deposited: 09 Sep 2025 09:44 UTC
Last Modified: 10 Sep 2025 08:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/111203 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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