- Child Psychiatry Branch
National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
Building 10, Rm 3N202
Bethesda, MD, 20892-1600, USA. - 301.402.9810
Nora S Vyas
Kingston University, London, Department of Psychology, Faculty Member
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National Institutes of Health, NIMH Child Psychiatry Branch, Department Member add
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Nora S Vyas, PhD, AFBPsS, SFHEA I am a Associate Professor TEL Faculty Champion (Kingston University London) and Hon... moreNora S Vyas, PhD, AFBPsS, SFHEA
I am a Associate Professor TEL Faculty Champion (Kingston University London) and Honorary Senior Lecturer (Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust). My research interest involves studying the complex pathophysiology of schizophrenia using neurocognition, genetics and imaging techniques. I am a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS); a Chartered Scientist of the Science Council, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts . I am leading a project on brain oscillatory patterns in childhood-onset schizophrenia and their biological relatives using MEG imaging, at the Child Psychiatry Branch, NIMH, Washington DC, USA.
AWARDS
I have been fortunate to receive national/international awards early in my academic career, including: Young Researcher Award (2008) at the Third International Conference on Schizophrenia Research (Chennai, India), Young Scientist Award (2009) at the Ninth World Congress of Biological Psychiatry (Paris, France), the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award (2010-11) by the US-UK Fulbright Commission, Asian Achievers Awards (AAA) Gold Award for Achievement in Healthcare (2010), and the Black History Month Fulbright Travel Award (2011). More recently, I was awarded the Lindemann Trust Fellowship (2011-12) by the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth.
NATIONAL / INTERNATIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS
I am Associate Editor of Frontiers in Child and Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry, and Frontiers in Neuropsychiatric Imaging and Stimulation.. I am an anonymous scientific reviewer for numerous international journals (see below) in psychiatry and cognitive neuroscience.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My main research expertise are childhood-onset (onset <13) adolescent-onset (onset <18) schizophrenia, schizophrenia/ psychotic disorders, endophenotypes, neurocognition, and molecular genetics. My other interests including using neuroimaging techniques to understand the complex pathophysiology of schizophrenia, including fMRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetoencephalography (MEG). I am fully trained in the theory and application of several neuroimaging tools, such as FreeSurfer and AFNI (SPM2 equivalent in the UK).
TEACHING DUTIES
I am Module Leader for PS6003 Neuropsychology & Neuro-rehabilitation, and more recently PS5008 Mental health and Brain Function. I am Member of the Psycholoy Ethics Committee at Kingston University London.
I am Research Supervisor to UG and Masters students, and supervise on a wide range of topics in psychology, including cognitive neuroscience, health/clinical psychology, drug abuse and the development of psychosis, and mental health using quantitative and qualitative methods.
INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP (to date):
2013: Associate Editor, Frontiers in Neuropsychiatric Imaging and Stimulation.
2013: Fellow, Royal Society of Arts
2013: Fellow, Higher Education Academy
2012: Associate Fellow, BPS
2011: Associate Editor of Frontiers in Child and Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry (http://www.frontiersin.org/Child_and_Neurodevelopmental_Psychiatry/about)
2011: Editorial Board Member for World Journal of Psychiatry.
2011: Editorial Board Member for Medical Hypotheses.
2010: Editorial Board Member for Open Psychiatry Journal (http://bentham.org/open/topj/).
2010 Member, British Psychological Society (BPS)
2010: Executive Committee Member for the scientific steering group and establishment of youth forum, British Indian Psychiatric Association (www.bipa.org.uk).
2010: Continental Who's Who.
2009: British Psychological Society (www.bps.org.uk).
2009: British Association of Psychopharmacology (www.bap.org.uk).
2007: Member, Schizophrenia Research Forum.
2007: Full Member, British Indian Psychiatric Association.
ANONYMOUS PEER-REVIEWER FOR THE FOLLOWING JOURNALS:
Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
Psychiatry Research
British Journal of Psychiatry
Schizophrenia Research
Schizophrenia Bulletin
Journal of Psychiatric Research
Child Neuropsychology
British Journal of Psychiatry
General Hospital Psychiatry
NeuroImage
Medical Hypotheses
Child Neuropsychology
CITATIONS
ACADEMIC ID: C-3570-2011
H-Index: 9
http://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=Mz9jj08AAAAJ&hl=en edit -
Judith L. Rapoport, M.D., Nitin Gogtay, M.D., Monte S Buchsbaum, M.D., Jogeshwar Mukherjee, M.D.edit
Background: We investigated the neurocognitive profiles of Early-Onset Schizophrenia (EOS; onset before age 18) and paired unaffected siblings and the little-studied effect of age-of-onset and duration of illness on cognitive performance.... more
Background: We investigated the neurocognitive profiles of Early-Onset Schizophrenia (EOS; onset before age 18) and paired unaffected siblings and the little-studied effect of age-of-onset and duration of illness on cognitive performance. Methods: 31 EOS probands, and 31 of their siblings, had four cognitive domains assessed: (a) Memory: California Verbal Learning Test, and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised; (b) Working memory: Digit Span; (c) Attention: Degraded-Stimulus Continuous Performance Test, Span of Apprehension (SPAN), and Trail Making Test (TMT) part A; (d) Executive function: Wisconsin card sorting task, and TMT part B. Diagnosis was confirmed using the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV. Results: While EOS showed a generalised neurocognitive deficit (0.25-0.50 effect size) compared with siblings, across all cognitive domains, significantly greater patient deficits were observed with, working memory, attention, and executive function and minimal differences for digit span forward, block design and false alarms on the SPAN-12 confirmed by repeated measures MANOVA. Patients with earlier onset (12-15) showed greater deficits on false alarm and digits backward scores. Siblings showed individual cognitive task profiles similar to patients, confirming familial effects. EOS showed much more variable scores than siblings with more individual tasks showing 2 SD deficits than siblings. Long duration patients had greater z-score variability across tasks. Conclusions: Duration of illness was a more important characteristic in patients with onset 16 and over than in younger onset patients with comparable durations. Both the similarity of sibling pair profiles and greater patient variability across task provide further support for neurobiological heterogeneity in schizophrenia.
Research Interests:
Psychiatry, Child and adolescent mental health, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Cognition, and 13 moreChild Development, Attention, Working Memory, Executive Functions (Cognitive Neuroscience), Memory, Executive Functioning, Schizophrenia, Cognition, Community Living and Functional Outcome, First Degree Relatives, Schizophrenia Neurobiology, Methodology and Review of Related Literature, Early Onset Psychosis, Early-onset Schizophrenia, and Children-At-High-Risk
Objectives. Youth mental health services are poised for a paradigm shift. Recent epidemiological evidence confirms the seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health-50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the... more
Objectives. Youth mental health services are poised for a paradigm shift. Recent epidemiological evidence confirms the seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health-50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the age of 16% and 75% before the age of 25. Here, we identify issues with transition of care between CAMHS-AMHS service, and effectiveness of early intervention services. Methods. We provide a selective review providing evidence of adolescence as a risk period, discuss CAMHS-AMHS service transition problems, and discuss avenues for change to implement the early intervention model across youth mental health. Results. Traditional service structures,with paediatric-adult split at 16-18 years increasingly appear not fit for purpose. A radical redesign of youth mental health services is not only necessary, it is also feasible and achievable, as illustrated by a pilot Birmingham youth service-Youthspace. Conclusions. Pilot youth mental projects currently underway can help radically redesign the existing child and adolescent services. This will in turn lead to an improvement in the young people's experience of engagement with the services so that they too have a positive future.
Research Interests:
Converging evidence indicates that the prefrontal cortex is critically involved in executive control and that executive dysfunction is implicated in schizophrenia. Reduced dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding potential has been reported in... more
Converging evidence indicates that the prefrontal cortex is critically involved in executive control and that executive dysfunction is implicated in schizophrenia. Reduced dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding potential has been reported in schizophrenia, and the correlations with neuropsychological test scores have been positive and negative for different tasks. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between dopamine D2/D3 receptor levels with frontal and temporal neurocognitive performance in schizophrenia. Resting-state 18 F-fallypride pos-itron emission tomography was performed on 20 medication-naïve and 5 previously medicated for brief earlier periods patients with schizophrenia and 19 age-and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Striatal and extra-striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor levels were quantified as binding potential using fallypride imaging. Magnetic resonance images in standard Talairach position and segmented into gray and white matter were co-registered to the fallypride images, and the AFNI stereotaxic atlas was applied. Two neuropsychological tasks known to activate frontal and temporal lobe function were chosen, specifically the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Images of the correlation coefficient between fallypride binding and WCST and CVLT performance showed a negative correlation in contrast to positive correlations in healthy volunteers. The results of this study demonstrate that lower fallypride binding potential in patients with schizophrenia may be associated with better performance. Our findings are consistent with previous studies that failed to find cognitive improvements with typical dopamine-blocking medications.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.05.017
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.05.017
Research Interests:
Psychosis, Drugs And Addiction, Schizophrenia, Cognition, Frontal Lobes, and 9 moreMagnetic Resonance Imaging, Memory Studies, Executive Functions (Cognitive Neuroscience), Positron Emission Tomography, Executive Function, Dopamine, Thalamus, Verbal working memory, and Short-term memory (auditory-verbal)
Objectives. Youth mental health services are poised for a paradigm shift. Recent epidemiological evidence confirms the seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health - 50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the... more
Objectives. Youth mental health services are poised for a paradigm shift. Recent epidemiological evidence confirms the
seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health - 50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the age of
16% and 75% before the age of 25. Here, we identify issues with transition of care between CAMHS-AMHS service, and
effectiveness of early intervention services.
Methods. We provide a selective review providing evidence of adolescence as a risk period, discuss CAMHS-AMHS service
transition problems, and discuss avenues for change to implement the early intervention model across youth mental health.
Results. Traditional service structures,with paediatric-adult split at 16–18 years increasingly appear not fit for purpose. A
radical redesign of youth mental health services is not only necessary, it is also feasible and achievable, as illustrated by a
pilot Birmingham youth service – Youthspace.
Conclusions. Pilot youth mental projects currently underway can help radically redesign the existing child and adolescent
services. This will in turn lead to an improvement in the young people's experience of engagement with the services
so that they too have a positive future.
seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health - 50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the age of
16% and 75% before the age of 25. Here, we identify issues with transition of care between CAMHS-AMHS service, and
effectiveness of early intervention services.
Methods. We provide a selective review providing evidence of adolescence as a risk period, discuss CAMHS-AMHS service
transition problems, and discuss avenues for change to implement the early intervention model across youth mental health.
Results. Traditional service structures,with paediatric-adult split at 16–18 years increasingly appear not fit for purpose. A
radical redesign of youth mental health services is not only necessary, it is also feasible and achievable, as illustrated by a
pilot Birmingham youth service – Youthspace.
Conclusions. Pilot youth mental projects currently underway can help radically redesign the existing child and adolescent
services. This will in turn lead to an improvement in the young people's experience of engagement with the services
so that they too have a positive future.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Genetics, Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, Early Intervention, and 14 morePsychosis, Memory (Cognitive Psychology), Schizophrenia, Cognition, Cognitive Neuropsychology, Child Clinical Psychology, Neurodevelopment, Cognitive Neuroscience, Biological Psychiatry, Genetic Polymorphisms, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Psychology, Child Psychiatry, and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Research Interests:
There is no doubt that schizophrenia has a significant genetic component and a number of candidate genes have been identified for this debilitating disorder. Of note, several of these are implicated in cognition. Cognitive deficits... more
There is no doubt that schizophrenia has a significant genetic component and a number of candidate genes have been identified for this debilitating disorder. Of note, several of these are implicated in cognition. Cognitive deficits constitute core symptoms of schizophrenia, and while current antipsychotic treatment strategies aim to help psychosis-related symptomatology, the cognitive symptom domain is largely inadequately treated. A number of other pharmacological approaches (e.g. using drugs that target specific neurotransmitter systems) have also been attempted for the amelioration of cognitive deficits in this population; however, these too have had limited success so far. Psychological interventions appear promising, though there has been speculation regarding whether or not these produce long-term functional improvements. Pharmacogenetic studies of the cognitive effects of currently available antipsychotics, although in relatively early stages, suggest that the treatment of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia may be advanced by focusing on genetic variants associated with specific cognitive dysfunctions in the general population and using this to match the most relevant pharmacological and/or psychological interventions with the genetic and cognitive profiles of the target population. Such a strategy would encourage bottom-up advances in drug development and provide a platform for individualised treatment of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.
Research Interests:
Genetics, Neuroscience, Psychosis, Child and adolescent mental health, Mental Health, and 9 moreSchizophrenia, Cognitive Neuropsychology, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, Dopaminergic Neurotransmision, Molecular Genetics, Cognitive Neuroscience, First-Episode Psychosis, Schizophrenia Neurobiology, and New Treatment for Schizophrenia
Positron emission tomography (PET) offers a strategic imaging platform to provide a map of functional neural correlates associated with the underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. It enables regional cerebral glucose metabolism... more
Positron emission tomography (PET) offers a strategic imaging platform to provide a map of functional neural correlates associated with the underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. It enables regional cerebral glucose metabolism and dopaminergic and serotonergic receptor function to be studied. PET neuroimaging can therefore be used in drug development and to study putative treatments. Recent PET studies of the first-generation antipsychotics flupentixol and haloperidol, and of the second-generation antipsychotics risperidone, aripiprazole, quetiapine, sertindole, ziprasidone, paliperidone and olanzapine, have been carried out; modulation of limbic circuitry has been found to be a predictor of treatment response. PET can also be used to predict and monitor likely extrapyramidal side effects from antipsychotic treatment. PET and neuropsychological testing can together also allow the study of putative molecular genetic changes associated with schizophrenia. Advances in the imaging, cognition and molecular genetics are likely to lead to the development of future diagnostics, treatments and novel pharmacological agents.
Research Interests:
Genetics, Neuroscience, Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, and 12 moreCognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Psychiatry, Psychosis, Memory (Cognitive Psychology), Psychopharmacology, Neuroimaging, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Molecular Genetics, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Positron Emission Tomography
Aim: Early-onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare and severe form of the disorder that shows phenotypic and neurobiological continuity with adult-onset schizophrenia. Here, we provide a synthesis of keynote findings in... more
Aim: Early-onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare and severe form of the disorder that shows phenotypic and neurobiological continuity with adult-onset schizophrenia. Here, we provide a synthesis of keynote findings in this enriched population to understand better the neurobiology and pathophysiology of early-onset schizophrenia. Methods: A synthetic and integrative approach is applied to review studies stemming from epidemiology, phenomenology, cognition, genetics and neuroimaging data. We provide conclusions and future directions of research on early-onset schizophrenia. Results: Childhood and adolescent-onset schizophrenia is associated with severe clinical course, greater rates of premorbid abnormalities, poor psychosocial functioning and increased severity of brain abnormalities. Early-onset cases show similar neurobiological correlates and phenotypic deficits to adult-onset schizophrenia, but show worse long-term psychopathological outcome. Emerging technological advances have provided important insights into the genomic architecture of early-onset schizophrenia, suggesting that some genetic variations may occur more frequently and at a higher rate in young-onset than adult-onset cases. Conclusions: Clinical, cognitive, genetic and imaging data suggest increased severity in early-onset schizophrenia. Studying younger-onset cases can provide useful insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of schizophrenia and the complexity of gene-environment interactions leading to the emergence of this debilitating disorder.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Neuroscience, Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and 12 moreCognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Psychiatry, Psychosis, Memory (Cognitive Psychology), Neuroimaging, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Children and Families, Child Development, Neurocognition, and Abnorma Psychology
Many of the major neuropsychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia, have a typical age of onset in late adolescence. Late adolescence may reflect a critical period in brain development making it particularly vulnerable for the onset of... more
Many of the major neuropsychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia, have a typical age of onset in late adolescence.
Late adolescence may reflect a critical period in brain development making it particularly vulnerable for the onset of psychopathology. Neuroimaging studies that focus on this age range may provide unique insights into the onset and course of psychosis. In this review, we examine the evidence from 2 unique longitudinal cohorts that span the ages from early childhood through young adulthood; a study of childhood-onset schizophrenia where patients and siblings are followed from ages 6 through to their early twenties, and an ultra-high risk study where subjects (mean age of 19 years) are studied before and after the onset of psychosis. From the available evidence, we make an argument that subtle, regionally specific, and genetically influenced alterations during developmental age windows influence the course of psychosis and the resultant brain phenotype. The importance of examining trajectories of development and the need for future combined approaches,
using multimodal imaging together with molecular studies
is discussed.
Late adolescence may reflect a critical period in brain development making it particularly vulnerable for the onset of psychopathology. Neuroimaging studies that focus on this age range may provide unique insights into the onset and course of psychosis. In this review, we examine the evidence from 2 unique longitudinal cohorts that span the ages from early childhood through young adulthood; a study of childhood-onset schizophrenia where patients and siblings are followed from ages 6 through to their early twenties, and an ultra-high risk study where subjects (mean age of 19 years) are studied before and after the onset of psychosis. From the available evidence, we make an argument that subtle, regionally specific, and genetically influenced alterations during developmental age windows influence the course of psychosis and the resultant brain phenotype. The importance of examining trajectories of development and the need for future combined approaches,
using multimodal imaging together with molecular studies
is discussed.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Schizophrenia involves dysregulation in dopaminergic transmission. Studies show heightened presynaptic striatal dopaminergic function and elevated striatal D2/D3 receptor density in the brain. Cognitive impairments result from... more
Schizophrenia involves dysregulation in dopaminergic
transmission. Studies show heightened presynaptic striatal
dopaminergic function and elevated striatal D2/D3 receptor
density in the brain. Cognitive impairments result from
hypostimulation of D1 receptors and are associated with
dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex. Here we discuss
relevant positron emissions tomography (PET) studies and
provide future directions.
transmission. Studies show heightened presynaptic striatal
dopaminergic function and elevated striatal D2/D3 receptor
density in the brain. Cognitive impairments result from
hypostimulation of D1 receptors and are associated with
dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex. Here we discuss
relevant positron emissions tomography (PET) studies and
provide future directions.
Research Interests:
Background: Progressive cortical gray matter (GM) abnormalities are an established feature of schizophrenia and are more pronounced in rare, severe, and treatment refractory childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) cases. The effect of sex on... more
Background: Progressive cortical gray matter (GM) abnormalities are an established feature of schizophrenia and are more pronounced in rare, severe, and treatment refractory childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) cases. The effect of sex on brain development in schizophrenia is poorly understood and studies to date have produced inconsistent results. Methods: Using the largest to date longitudinal sample of COS cases (n = 104, scans = 249, Male/Female [M/F] = 57/47), we compared COS sex differences with sex differences in a sample of matched typically developing children (n = 104, scans = 244, M/F = 57/47), to determine whether or not sex had differential effects on cortical and subcortical brain development in COS. Results: Our results showed no significant differential sex effects in COS for either GM cortical thickness or subcortical volume development (sex × diagnosis × age interaction; false discovery rate q = 0.05). Conclusion: Sex appears to play a similar role in cortical and subcortical GM development in COS as it does in normally developing children.
Research Interests:
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a crucial role in the survival, development and maintenance of neuronal systems, and the Val66Met polymorphism has been implicated in memory functions. Method: We examined the association of... more
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a crucial role in the survival, development and maintenance of neuronal systems, and the Val66Met polymorphism has been implicated in memory functions. Method: We examined the association of BDNF with general intellectual ability in 161 individuals including 53 early-onset patients with schizophrenia (EOS), 91 healthy biological relatives, and 17 relatives with major depressive disorder (MDD), using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WISC). Results: Regardless of diagnosis, individuals with the Met66 allele had a significantly higher performance score than those homozygous for Val66 on vocabulary, block design and object assembly subtests of the WISC. EOS probands showed poor performance on all IQ subtests compared with relatives with and without MDD. Limitations: Relatively smaller sample size of individual genotypes. Conclusions: BDNF genotype may play a role in specific cognitive functions and dimensions of intelligence. The Met allele appears to be associated with superior performance in IQ compared with relatives Val/Val genotype.
Research Interests:
Genetics, Neuropsychology, Psychiatry, Psychosis, Child and adolescent mental health, and 11 moreMental Health, Schizophrenia, Children and Families, Cognition, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, Molecular Genetics, Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychiatric Genetics, First-Episode Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Child and Adolesent Mental Hralth, and Schizophrenia Neurobiology
Early onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare, severe and chronic form of schizophrenia. The clinical presentation of schizophrenia at this unusually early age of onset has been associated with premorbid developmental... more
Early onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare, severe and chronic form of schizophrenia. The clinical presentation of schizophrenia at this unusually early age of onset has been associated with premorbid developmental abnormalities, poor response to neuroleptic treatment, greater admission rates, and poor prognosis. This is a brief, condensed review of current treatment strategies for the early onset population highlighting the need for novel treatment strategies for these generally treatment refractory cses. Based on the current literature, second generation antipsychotics remain the mainstay of treatment, although current medications provide suboptimal response at best. Based on the adult literature, combining antipsychotic treatment with psychotherapeutic intervention may be a more comprehensive treatment strategy. Indeed, early detection, identification of relevant biomarkers, coupled with advancing knowledge of the neurochemical and neuroanatomic pathways may help design informed and novel treatment strategies.
Research Interests:
Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Psychosis, Psychopharmacology, Child and adolescent mental health, and 7 moreMental Health, Schizophrenia, Children and Families, Child Development, Schizophrenia, Cognition, Community Living and Functional Outcome, Schizophrenia Neurobiology, and New Treatment for Schizophrenia
The serotonin receptor 2A gene polymorphism is associated with attentional processes in schizophrenia. However, the specificity of the underlying cognitive constructs affected within this domain requires further elucidation. We carried... more
The serotonin receptor 2A gene polymorphism is associated with attentional processes in schizophrenia. However, the specificity of the underlying cognitive constructs affected within this domain requires further elucidation. We carried out the first investigation of whether the TC/CC genotype of the 5-HT2A T102C polymorphism confers impairments in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS; onset of psychotic symptoms before age 18) but not in healthy siblings, the putative mechanism being that serotonergic inhibitory modulation of prefrontal dopamine is impaired in the presence of the C allele which in turn is a genetic risk marker for schizophrenia. Fifty-three EOS outpatients and 46 of their non-psychotic siblings (no current Axis I diagnoses) were genotyped for 5-HT2A T102C polymorphism. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess symptomatology severity. Diagnostic classification was based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Structured Clinical Interview. The Degraded-Stimulus Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) was used to measure sustained focused attention. As predicted, EOS probands produced fewer correct responses (hit rate) and demonstrated poorer perceptual sensitivity compared with the healthy siblings. The C allele at codon 102 was associated with fewer correct responses compared with the TT genotype. There was no significant relationship between the polymorphism and clinical parameters, as measured using the PANSS. Our findings suggest that the C allele may be related to sustained attentional impairments in EOS.
Research Interests:
Genetics, Cognitive Science, Psychosis, Child and adolescent mental health, Mental Health, and 10 moreSchizophrenia, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, Clinical And Neuropsychological Assessment, Molecular Genetics, Cognitive Neuroscience, Serotonin, First-Episode Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Child and Adolesent Mental Hralth, Schizophrenia, Cognition, Community Living and Functional Outcome, and Schizophrenia Neurobiology
Kumar CT, Christodoulou T, Vyas NS, Kyriakopoulos M, Corrigall R, Reichenberg A, Frangou S. BACKGROUND: There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar... more
Kumar CT, Christodoulou T, Vyas NS, Kyriakopoulos M, Corrigall R, Reichenberg A, Frangou S.
BACKGROUND: There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained attention is considered a cardinal feature of psychoses but its association with genetic liability and disease expression in BD remains to be clarified.
METHODS: Visual sustained attention was assessed using the Degraded Symbol Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) in a sample of 397 individuals consisting of 50 remitted SZ patients, 119 of their first degree relatives, 47 euthymic BD patients, 88 of their first degree relatives and 93 healthy controls. Relatives with a personal history of schizophrenia or bipolar spectrum disorders were excluded. Performance on the DS-CPT was evaluated based on the response criterion (the amount of perceptual evidence required to designate a stimulus as a target) and sensitivity (a signal-detection theory measure of signal/noise discrimination).
RESULTS: We found no effect of genetic risk or diagnosis for either disorder on response criterion. In contrast, impaired sensitivity was seen in SZ patients and to a lesser degree in their relatives but not in BD patients and their relatives. These findings were not attributable to IQ, medication, age of onset or duration of illness.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results argue for the specificity of visual sustained attention impairment in differentiating SZ from BD. They also suggest that compromised visual information processing is a significant contributor to these deficits in SZ.
BACKGROUND: There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained attention is considered a cardinal feature of psychoses but its association with genetic liability and disease expression in BD remains to be clarified.
METHODS: Visual sustained attention was assessed using the Degraded Symbol Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) in a sample of 397 individuals consisting of 50 remitted SZ patients, 119 of their first degree relatives, 47 euthymic BD patients, 88 of their first degree relatives and 93 healthy controls. Relatives with a personal history of schizophrenia or bipolar spectrum disorders were excluded. Performance on the DS-CPT was evaluated based on the response criterion (the amount of perceptual evidence required to designate a stimulus as a target) and sensitivity (a signal-detection theory measure of signal/noise discrimination).
RESULTS: We found no effect of genetic risk or diagnosis for either disorder on response criterion. In contrast, impaired sensitivity was seen in SZ patients and to a lesser degree in their relatives but not in BD patients and their relatives. These findings were not attributable to IQ, medication, age of onset or duration of illness.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results argue for the specificity of visual sustained attention impairment in differentiating SZ from BD. They also suggest that compromised visual information processing is a significant contributor to these deficits in SZ.
Interindividual variation in response to medication and in adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is well known in psychiatry [1]. At present, most prescribing relies on the clinician's best judgment but for the most commonly prescribed... more
Interindividual variation in response to medication and in adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is well known in psychiatry [1]. At present, most prescribing relies on the clinician's best judgment but for the most commonly prescribed medications (antipsychotics, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers), in 40–60% of cases, the first medication prescribed at a given dose either does not work or cannot be tolerated [2].
BACKGROUND: There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained... more
BACKGROUND:
There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained attention is considered a cardinal feature of psychoses but its association with genetic liability and disease expression in BD remains to be clarified.
METHODS:
Visual sustained attention was assessed using the Degraded Symbol Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) in a sample of 397 individuals consisting of 50 remitted SZ patients, 119 of their first degree relatives, 47 euthymic BD patients, 88 of their first degree relatives and 93 healthy controls. Relatives with a personal history of schizophrenia or bipolar spectrum disorders were excluded. Performance on the DS-CPT was evaluated based on the response criterion (the amount of perceptual evidence required to designate a stimulus as a target) and sensitivity (a signal-detection theory measure of signal/noise discrimination).
RESULTS:
We found no effect of genetic risk or diagnosis for either disorder on response criterion. In contrast, impaired sensitivity was seen in SZ patients and to a lesser degree in their relatives but not in BD patients and their relatives. These findings were not attributable to IQ, medication, age of onset or duration of illness.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our results argue for the specificity of visual sustained attention impairment in differentiating SZ from BD. They also suggest that compromised visual information processing is a significant contributor to these deficits in SZ.
There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained attention is considered a cardinal feature of psychoses but its association with genetic liability and disease expression in BD remains to be clarified.
METHODS:
Visual sustained attention was assessed using the Degraded Symbol Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) in a sample of 397 individuals consisting of 50 remitted SZ patients, 119 of their first degree relatives, 47 euthymic BD patients, 88 of their first degree relatives and 93 healthy controls. Relatives with a personal history of schizophrenia or bipolar spectrum disorders were excluded. Performance on the DS-CPT was evaluated based on the response criterion (the amount of perceptual evidence required to designate a stimulus as a target) and sensitivity (a signal-detection theory measure of signal/noise discrimination).
RESULTS:
We found no effect of genetic risk or diagnosis for either disorder on response criterion. In contrast, impaired sensitivity was seen in SZ patients and to a lesser degree in their relatives but not in BD patients and their relatives. These findings were not attributable to IQ, medication, age of onset or duration of illness.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our results argue for the specificity of visual sustained attention impairment in differentiating SZ from BD. They also suggest that compromised visual information processing is a significant contributor to these deficits in SZ.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Pharmacogenetics of Antipsychotic Treatment Pharmacogenetics of Antidepressant Treatment Pharmacogenetics of Lithium Treatment Conclusions References
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The serotonin receptor 2A gene polymorphism is associated with attentional processes in schizophrenia. However, the specificity of the underlying cognitive constructs affected within this domain requires further elucidation. We carried... more
The serotonin receptor 2A gene polymorphism is associated with attentional processes in schizophrenia. However, the specificity of the underlying cognitive constructs affected within this domain requires further elucidation. We carried out the first investigation of whether the TC/CC genotype of the 5-HT2A T102C polymorphism confers impairments in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS; onset of psychotic symptoms before age 18) but not in healthy siblings, the putative mechanism being that serotonergic inhibitory modulation of prefrontal dopamine is impaired in the presence of the C allele which in turn is a genetic risk marker for schizophrenia. Fifty-three EOS outpatients and 46 of their non-psychotic siblings (no current Axis I diagnoses) were genotyped for 5-HT2A T102C polymorphism. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess symptomatology severity. Diagnostic classification was based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Structured Clinical Interview. The Degraded-Stimulus Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) was used to measure sustained focused attention. As predicted, EOS probands produced fewer correct responses (hit rate) and demonstrated poorer perceptual sensitivity compared with the healthy siblings. The C allele at codon 102 was associated with fewer correct responses compared with the TT genotype. There was no significant relationship between the polymorphism and clinical parameters, as measured using the PANSS. Our findings suggest that the C allele may be related to sustained attentional impairments in EOS.
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Genetics, Cognitive Science, Child and adolescent mental health, Cognition, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, and 15 moreClinical And Neuropsychological Assessment, Cognitive Neuroscience, Dopamine, First episode psychosis, Female, Clinical Sciences, Gene Polymorphism, Genotype, Adult, Cognitive Function, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Allele, alleles, Continuous Performance Test, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
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Cognitive Science, Brain Imaging, Cognition, Clinical Neuroscience, Dopaminergic Neurotransmision, and 15 moreAdolescent, Biological Sciences, Biological Psychiatry, Dopamine, Brain, Caudate Nucleus, Chronic Disease, Female, Animals, Genes, Clinical Sciences, Adult, COMT, Antipsychotic agents, and Cardiovascular medicine and haematology
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Gender differences in current received during transcranial
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Early onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare, severe, and chronic form of schizophrenia.The clinical presentation of schizophrenia at this unusually early age of onset has been associated with premorbid developmental... more
Early onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare, severe, and chronic form of schizophrenia.The clinical presentation of schizophrenia at this unusually early age of onset has been associated with premorbid developmental abnormalities, poor response to neuroleptic treatment, greater admission rates, and poor prognosis. This is a brief, condensed review of current treatment strategies for the early onset population highlighting the need for novel treatment strategies for these generally treatment-refractory cases. Based on the current literature, second-generation antipsychotics remain the mainstay of treatment, although current medications provide suboptimal response at best. Based on the adult literature, combining antipsychotic treatment with psychotherapeutic intervention may be a more comprehensive treatment strategy. Indeed, early detection, identification of relevant biomarkers, coupled with advancing knowledge of the neurochemical and neuroanatomic pathways may he...
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BACKGROUND We investigated the neurocognitive profiles of Early-Onset Schizophrenia (EOS; onset before age 18) and paired unaffected siblings and the little-studied effect of age-of-onset and duration of illness on cognitive performance.... more
BACKGROUND We investigated the neurocognitive profiles of Early-Onset Schizophrenia (EOS; onset before age 18) and paired unaffected siblings and the little-studied effect of age-of-onset and duration of illness on cognitive performance. METHODS 31 EOS probands, and 31 of their siblings, had four cognitive domains assessed: (a) Memory: California Verbal Learning Test, and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised; (b) Working memory: Digit Span; (c) Attention: Degraded-Stimulus Continuous Performance Test, Span of Apprehension, and Trail Making Test (TMT) part A; (d) Executive function: Wisconsin card sorting task, and TMT part B. Diagnosis was confirmed using the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV. RESULTS While EOS showed a generalized neurocognitive deficit (0.25 to 0.50 effect size) compared with siblings, across all cognitive domains, significantly greater patient deficits were observed with, working memory, attention, and executive function and minimal differences for digit span forward, block design and false alarms on the SPAN-12 confirmed by repeated measures MANOVA. Patients with earlier onset (12-16) showed greater deficits on false alarm and digits backward scores. Siblings showed individual cognitive task profiles similar to patients, confirming familial effects. EOS showed much more variable scores than siblings with more individual tasks showing 2 SD deficits than siblings. Long duration patients had greater z-score variability across tasks. CONCLUSIONS Duration of illness was a more important characteristic in patients with onset 16 and over than in younger onset patients with comparable durations. Both the similarity of sibling pair profiles and greater patient variability across task provide further support for neurobiological heterogeneity in schizophrenia.
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Psychiatry, Child and adolescent mental health, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Cognition, and 10 moreChild Development, Attention, Working Memory, Executive Functions (Cognitive Neuroscience), Medicine, Executive Functioning, Clinical Sciences, Schizophrenia Neurobiology, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, and Neurosciences
The serotonin receptor 2A gene polymorphism is associated with attentional processes in schizophrenia. However, the specificity of the underlying cognitive constructs affected within this domain requires further elucidation. We carried... more
The serotonin receptor 2A gene polymorphism is associated with attentional processes in schizophrenia. However, the specificity of the underlying cognitive constructs affected within this domain requires further elucidation. We carried out the first investigation of whether the TC/CC genotype of the 5-HT2A T102C polymorphism confers impairments in early-onset schizophrenia (EOS; onset of psychotic symptoms before age 18) but not in healthy siblings, the putative mechanism being that serotonergic inhibitory modulation of prefrontal dopamine is impaired in the presence of the C allele which in turn is a genetic risk marker for schizophrenia. Fifty-three EOS outpatients and 46 of their non-psychotic siblings (no current Axis I diagnoses) were genotyped for 5-HT2A T102C polymorphism. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess symptomatology severity. Diagnostic classification was based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition,...
Research Interests:
Genetics, Cognitive Science, Child and adolescent mental health, Cognition, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, and 15 moreClinical And Neuropsychological Assessment, Cognitive Neuroscience, Dopamine, Humans, First episode psychosis, Female, Clinical Sciences, Gene Polymorphism, Genotype, Adult, Cognitive Function, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, alleles, Continuous Performance Test, and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
Objectives Youth mental health services are poised for a paradigm shift. Recent epidemiological evidence confirms the seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health - 50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the... more
Objectives Youth mental health services are poised for a paradigm shift. Recent epidemiological evidence confirms the seriousness of adolescence as a risk period for mental ill-health - 50% of all adult mental disorders begin before the age of 16% and 75% before the age of 25. Here, we identify issues with transition of care between CAMHS-AMHS service, and effectiveness of early intervention services. Methods We provide a selective review providing evidence of adolescence as a risk period, discuss CAMHS-AMHS service transition problems, and discuss avenues for change to implement the early intervention model across youth mental health. Results Traditional service structures,with paediatric -adult split at 16–18 years increasingly appear not fit for purpose. A radical redesign of youth mental health services is not only necessary, it is also feasible and achievable, as illustrated by a pilot Birmingham youth service – Youthspace. Conclusions Pilot youth mental projects currently unde...
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Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Psychiatry, Psychosis, Child and adolescent mental health, and 12 moreMental Health, Schizophrenia, Eating Disorders, Adolescent Development, Personality Disorders, Psychopathology, Children and Youth, Early Intervention in Psychosis, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Youth Mental Health, Adult Mental Health and Psychological Therapies, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health
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Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Pharmacy, Psychosis, Psychopharmacology, and 10 moreChild and adolescent mental health, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Children and Families, Child Development, Treatment, Medicine, Schizophrenia Neurobiology, New Treatment for Schizophrenia, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health
BackgroundNumerous studies have reported links between theory of mind (ToM) deficits, neurocognition and negative symptoms with functional outcome in chronic schizophrenia patients. Although the ToM deficit has been observed in... more
BackgroundNumerous studies have reported links between theory of mind (ToM) deficits, neurocognition and negative symptoms with functional outcome in chronic schizophrenia patients. Although the ToM deficit has been observed in first-episode patients, fewer studies have addressed ToM as a possible trait marker, neurocognitive and symptom correlations longitudinally, and associations with later functioning.MethodRecent-onset schizophrenia patients (n = 77) were assessed at baseline after reaching medication stabilization, and again at 6 months (n = 48). Healthy controls (n = 21) were screened, and demographically comparable with the patients. ToM was assessed with a Social Animations Task (SAT), in which the participants’ descriptions of scenes depicting abstract visual stimuli ‘interacting’ in three conditions (ToM, goal directed and random) were rated for degree of intentionality attributed to the figures and for appropriateness. Neurocognition, symptoms and role functioning were a...
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PREFACE vii CONTRIBUTORS ix 1. Pharmacogenetics: A Historical Perspective 1 Ann K. Daly PART I PHARMACOGENETICS: RELATIONSHIP TO PHARMACOKINETICS AND PHARMACODYNAMICS 2. Pharmacogenetics in Drug Metabolism: Role of Phase I Enzymes 15 Vita... more
PREFACE vii CONTRIBUTORS ix 1. Pharmacogenetics: A Historical Perspective 1 Ann K. Daly PART I PHARMACOGENETICS: RELATIONSHIP TO PHARMACOKINETICS AND PHARMACODYNAMICS 2. Pharmacogenetics in Drug Metabolism: Role of Phase I Enzymes 15 Vita Dolz!an 3. Pharmacogenetics of Phase II Drug Metabolizing Enzymes 81 Ingolf Cascorbi 4. Pharmacogenetics of Drug Transporters 101 Henriette E. Meyer zu Schwabedissen, Markus Grube, and Heyo K. Kroemer 5. Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets 149 Ann K. Daly and Maria Arranz PART II PHARMACOGENETICS: THERAPEUTIC AREAS 6. Cardiovascular Pharmacogenetics 185 Bas J. M. Peters, Anthonius de Boer, Tom Schalekamp, Olaf H. Klungel, and Anke-Hilse Maitland-van der Zee 7. Pharmacogenetics in Psychiatry 215 Evangelia M. Tsapakis, Sarah Curran, Ruth I. Ohlsen, Nora S. Vyas, Katherine J. Aitchison, and Ann K. Daly 8. Pharmacogenetics in Cancer 251 Sharon Marsh 9. Pharmacogenetics of Asthma and COPD 271 Ellen S. Koster, Jan A. M. Raaijmakers, Anke-Hilse Maitland-van der Zee, and Gerard H. Koppelman 10. Pharmacogenetics of Adverse Drug Reactions 295 Ann K. Daly, Martin Armstrong, and Munir Pirmohamed 11. Pharmacogenomics of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 323 Alexander Teml, Susanne Karner, Elke Schaeffeler, and Matthias Schwab 12. Pharmacogenetics of Pain Medication 353 Jorn Lotsch PART III PHARMACOGENETICS: IMPLEMENTATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE 13. Ethical and Social Issues in Pharmacogenomics Testing 377 Susanne Vijverberg, Toine Pieters, and Martina Cornel PART IV DEVELOPMENTS IN PHARMACOGENETIC RESEARCH 14. High-Throughput Genotyping Technologies for Pharmacogenetics 403 Beatriz Sobrino and Angel Carracedo 15. Developments in Analyses in Pharmacogenetic Datasets 415 Alison A. Motsinger-Reif PART V PHARMACOGENETICS: INDUSTRY AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS 16. Applications of Pharmacogenetics in Pharmaceutical Research and Development 439 Daniel K. Burns and Scott S. Sundseth 17. Role of Pharmacogenetics in Registration Processes 461 Myong-Jin Kim, Issam Zineh, Shiew-Mei Huang, and Lawrence J. Lesko PART VI CONCLUSIONS 18. Pharmacogenetics: Possibilities and Pitfalls 479 Anke-Hilse Maitland-van der Zee and Ann K. Daly INDEX 485
There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained attention is... more
There is mounting evidence for shared genetic liability to psychoses, particularly with respect to Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar Disorder (BD), which may also involve aspects of cognitive dysfunction. Impaired sustained attention is considered a cardinal feature of psychoses but its association with genetic liability and disease expression in BD remains to be clarified. Visual sustained attention was assessed using the Degraded Symbol Continuous Performance Test (DS-CPT) in a sample of 397 individuals consisting of 50 remitted SZ patients, 119 of their first degree relatives, 47 euthymic BD patients, 88 of their first degree relatives and 93 healthy controls. Relatives with a personal history of schizophrenia or bipolar spectrum disorders were excluded. Performance on the DS-CPT was evaluated based on the response criterion (the amount of perceptual evidence required to designate a stimulus as a target) and sensitivity (a signal-detection theory measure of signal/noise discrimination). We found no effect of genetic risk or diagnosis for either disorder on response criterion. In contrast, impaired sensitivity was seen in SZ patients and to a lesser degree in their relatives but not in BD patients and their relatives. These findings were not attributable to IQ, medication, age of onset or duration of illness. Our results argue for the specificity of visual sustained attention impairment in differentiating SZ from BD. They also suggest that compromised visual information processing is a significant contributor to these deficits in SZ.
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Genetics, Neuropsychology, Perception, Bipolar Disorder, Cognition, and 15 moreFamily, Attention, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, Adolescent, Humans, Female, Male, Differential Diagnosis, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Elsevier, Neuropsychological Tests, Cognitive dysfunction, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Research Interests:
Abnormal Psychology, Brain Imaging, Child and adolescent mental health, Neuroimaging, Mental Health, and 15 moreChild Development, Adolescent Development, Brain and Cognitive Development, Cognitive Neuroscience, Adolescent, Medicine, Brain development, Neurocognition, Brain, Humans, Child, Neural Circuitry, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Age of Onset, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Neuroscience, Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Psychiatry, and 15 moreMedical Imaging, Psychosis, Brain Imaging, Neuroimaging, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Cognitive Neuropsychology, Nuclear medicine, Cognitive Neuroscience, Positron Emission Tomography, Neurobiology, Neurocognition, Humans, Clinical Sciences, and X ray Computed Tomography
There is no doubt that schizophrenia has a significant genetic component and a number of candidate genes have been identified for this debilitating disorder. Of note, several of these are implicated in cognition. Cognitive deficits... more
There is no doubt that schizophrenia has a significant genetic component and a number of candidate genes have been identified for this debilitating disorder. Of note, several of these are implicated in cognition. Cognitive deficits constitute core symptoms of schizophrenia, and while current antipsychotic treatment strategies aim to help psychosis-related symptomatology, the cognitive symptom domain is largely inadequately treated. A number of other pharmacological approaches (e.g. using drugs that target specific neurotransmitter systems) have also been attempted for the amelioration of cognitive deficits in this population; however, these too have had limited success so far. Psychological interventions appear promising, though there has been speculation regarding whether or not these produce long-term functional improvements. Pharmacogenetic studies of the cognitive effects of currently available antipsychotics, although in relatively early stages, suggest that the treatment of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia may be advanced by focusing on genetic variants associated with specific cognitive dysfunctions in the general population and using this to match the most relevant pharmacological and/or psychological interventions with the genetic and cognitive profiles of the target population. Such a strategy would encourage bottom-up advances in drug development and provide a platform for individualised treatment of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia.
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Genetics, Child and adolescent mental health, Cognitive Neuropsychology, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, Dopaminergic Neurotransmision, and 15 moreDrug development, Cognitive Neuroscience, Dopamine, Humans, First episode psychosis, Animals, Copy Number Variation, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Bottom Up, General Population, Cognition disorders, Glutamate Receptor, Antipsychotic agents, Cognitive dysfunction, and Medical and Health Sciences
Positron emission tomography (PET) offers a strategic imaging platform to provide a map of functional neural correlates associated with the underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. It enables regional cerebral glucose metabolism... more
Positron emission tomography (PET) offers a strategic imaging platform to provide a map of functional neural correlates associated with the underlying cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. It enables regional cerebral glucose metabolism and dopaminergic and serotonergic receptor function to be studied. PET neuroimaging can therefore be used in drug development and to study putative treatments. Recent PET studies of the first-generation antipsychotics flupentixol and haloperidol, and of the second-generation antipsychotics risperidone, aripiprazole, quetiapine, sertindole, ziprasidone, paliperidone and olanzapine, have been carried out; modulation of limbic circuitry has been found to be a predictor of treatment response. PET can also be used to predict and monitor likely extrapyramidal side effects from antipsychotic treatment. PET and neuropsychological testing can together also allow the study of putative molecular genetic changes associated with schizophrenia. Advances in the imaging, cognition and molecular genetics are likely to lead to the development of future diagnostics, treatments and novel pharmacological agents.
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Genetics, Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, and 15 moreBiophysics, Medical Imaging, Mental Health, Cognition, Medical Image Processing, Drug Discovery, Medical Image Analysis, Cognitive Neuroscience, Medicine, Humans, Female, Male, Limbic System, Memory Cognitive Psychology, and Antipsychotic agents
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Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Child and adolescent mental health, Intelligence, and 15 moreMental Health, Cognition, Child Development, Imaging, Adolescent, Brain, Humans, Child, Clinical Sciences, Adult, Disease Progression, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Age of Onset, Cognition disorders, and Antipsychotic agents
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Genetics, Neuroscience, Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, Chemistry, and 15 morePsychiatry, Psychosis, Psychopharmacology, Neuroimaging, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, Dopaminergic Neurotransmision, Cognitive Neuroscience, Positron Emission Tomography, Medicine, Dopamine, Humans, Diagnostic Imaging, Neurochemical, and Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences
SummarySchizophrenia involves dysregulation in dopaminergic transmission. Studies show heightened presynaptic striatal dopaminergic function and elevated striatal D2/D3 receptor density in the brain. Cognitive impairments result from... more
SummarySchizophrenia involves dysregulation in dopaminergic transmission. Studies show heightened presynaptic striatal dopaminergic function and elevated striatal D2/D3 receptor density in the brain. Cognitive impairments result from hypostimulation of D1 receptors and are associated with dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex. Here we discuss relevant positron emissions tomography (PET) studies and provide future directions.
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Abnormal Psychology, Psychosis, Neuroimaging, Mental Health, Schizophrenia, and 11 moreEvidence Based Medicine, Nuclear medicine, Positron Emission Tomography, Nuclear Medicine and PET-CT, Prefrontal Cortex, Dopamine, Neurocognition, Humans, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, The British, and Medical and Health Sciences
Background The pattern of brain morphological changes at the early stages of schizophrenia may depend on the age at onset of illness; in children and adolescents with schizophrenia, grey matter deficits are seen in the parietal lobe... more
Background The pattern of brain morphological changes at the early stages of schizophrenia may depend on the age at onset of illness; in children and adolescents with schizophrenia, grey matter deficits are seen in the parietal lobe whereas in individuals with adult onset these are more widespread. Aims To examine whether white matter is similarly affected. Method Diffusion tensor imaging was used to compare fractional anisotropy measures in individuals with adolescent-onset (n = 17) and adult-onset schizophrenia (n = 17) with those in age- and gender-matched controls. Results Compared with their respective controls, individuals with adolescent-onset schizophrenia showed fractional anisotropy decrease in parietal regions; individuals with adult onset showed additional fractional anisotropy reductions in frontal, temporal and cerebellar regions. A differential effect of age at onset (adolescent v. adult) was noted bilaterally in medial prefrontal white matter. Conclusions White matte...
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Psychology, Schizophrenia, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Adolescent, Medicine, and 15 moreAnisotropy, Brain Mapping, Humans, Child, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Male, White matter, Adult, Age of Onset, Case Control Studies, Age at Onset, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, The British, and Medical and Health Sciences
A common T/C polymorphism within the ninth intron of the KIBRA gene (rs17070145) is thought to influence memory in humans. Since cognitive impairment, including memory, is a core feature of schizophrenia, we attempted to investigate this... more
A common T/C polymorphism within the ninth intron of the KIBRA gene (rs17070145) is thought to influence memory in humans. Since cognitive impairment, including memory, is a core feature of schizophrenia, we attempted to investigate this association in an independent sample of adolescent patients with early-onset schizophrenia (EOS; onset before age 18) probands and their healthy siblings. In a sample of 25 pairs of EOS proband-healthy full sibling, we sought to investigate the association of KIBRA with memory performance. Episodic memory was measured using immediate and delayed recall measures of the California Verbal Learning Test. EOS underperformed at immediate and delayed recall compared with siblings. In a combined analysis (TT vs. TC/CC) assuming a C dominant model of inheritance, we found a main effect of genotype where individuals with TT genotype outperformed non-TT-carriers at immediate and delayed recall. A genotype by group interaction showed that EOS with TT genotype d...
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Genetics, Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, Early Intervention, Cognition, and 15 moreCognitive Neuropsychology, Child Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Adolescent, Episodic Memory, Biological Psychiatry, Genetic Polymorphisms, Female, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Psychology, Child Psychiatry, Genotype, Adult, Elsevier, and Age of Onset
abnormalities are an established feature of schizophrenia and are more pronounced in rare, severe, and treatment refractory childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) cases. The effect of sex on brain development in schizophrenia is poorly... more
abnormalities are an established feature of schizophrenia and are more pronounced in rare, severe, and treatment refractory childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) cases. The effect of sex on brain development in schizophrenia is poorly understood and studies to date have produced inconsistent results. Methods: Using the largest to date longitudinal sample of COS cases (n 5 104, scans 5 249, Male/Female [M/F] 5 57/47), we compared COS sex differences with sex differences in a sample of matched typically developing children (n 5 104, scans 5 244, M/F 5 57/47), to determine whether or not sex had differential effects on cortical and subcortical brain devel-opment in COS. Results: Our results showed no signifi-cant differential sex effects in COS for either GM cortical thickness or subcortical volume development (sex 3 diagnosis 3 age interaction; false discovery rate q 5 0.05). Conclusion: Sex appears to play a similar role in cortical and subcortical GM development in COS as it does in n...
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Psychosis, Brain Imaging, Child and adolescent mental health, Neuroimaging, Schizophrenia, and 15 moreMagnetic Resonance Imaging, Gender, Adolescent, Humans, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Male, Young Adult, Longitudinal Studies, Adult, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Childhood Onset Schizophrenia, Gray Matter, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and Medical and Health Sciences
Aim: Early-onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare and severe form of the disorder that shows phenotypic and neurobiological continuity with adult-onset schizophrenia. Here, we provide a synthesis of keynote findings in... more
Aim: Early-onset schizophrenia (onset before adulthood) is a rare and severe form of the disorder that shows phenotypic and neurobiological continuity with adult-onset schizophrenia. Here, we provide a synthesis of keynote findings in this enriched population to understand better the neurobiology and pathophysiology of early-onset schizophrenia. Methods: A synthetic and integrative approach is applied to review studies stemming from epidemiology, phenomenology, cognition, genetics and neuroimaging data. We provide conclusions and future directions of research on early-onset schizophrenia.
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BACKGROUND Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a crucial role in the survival, development and maintenance of neuronal systems, and the Val66Met polymorphism has been implicated in memory functions. METHOD We examined the... more
BACKGROUND Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a crucial role in the survival, development and maintenance of neuronal systems, and the Val66Met polymorphism has been implicated in memory functions. METHOD We examined the association of BDNF with general intellectual ability in 161 individuals including 53 early-onset patients with schizophrenia (EOS), 91 healthy biological relatives, and 17 relatives with major depressive disorder (MDD), using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WISC). RESULTS Regardless of diagnosis, individuals with the Met66 allele had a significantly higher performance score than those homozygous for Val66 on vocabulary, block design and object assembly subtests of the WISC. EOS probands showed poor performance on all IQ subtests compared with relatives with and without MDD. LIMITATIONS Relatively smaller sample size of individual genotypes. CONCLUSIONS BDNF genotype may play a role in specific cognitive functions and dimensions of intelligence. The Me...
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Genetics, Child and adolescent mental health, Intelligence, Children and Families, Cognition, and 15 moreFamily, Cognitive Endophenotypes In Psychosis And Bipolar Disorder, Cognitive Neuroscience, Adolescent, Humans, First episode psychosis, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Clinical Sciences, Gene Polymorphism, Adult, Cognitive Function, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Block Design, and Age of Onset
Reading impairments are prominent trait-like features of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, predictive of overall cognitive functioning and presumably linked to dopaminergic abnormalities. To evaluate this, we used 18F-fallypride PET in... more
Reading impairments are prominent trait-like features of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, predictive of overall cognitive functioning and presumably linked to dopaminergic abnormalities. To evaluate this, we used 18F-fallypride PET in 19 healthy and 21 antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia subjects and correlated dopamine receptor binding potentials in relevant AFNI-derived regions and voxelwise with group performance on WRAT4 single-word reading subtest. Healthy subjects’ scores were positively and linearly associated with D2/D3 receptor availability in the rectus, orbital and superior frontal gyri, fusiform and middle temporal gyri, as well as middle occipital gyrus and precuneus, all predominantly in the left hemisphere and previously implicated in reading, hence suggesting that higher dopamine receptor density is cognitively advantageous. This relationship was weakened in schizophrenia subjects and in contrast to healthy participants followed an inverted U-shaped curve both in the cortex and dorsal striatum, indicating restricted optimal range of dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability for cognitive performance in schizophrenia.
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Research Interests:
Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, and 15 moreNeuroimaging, Mental Health, Children and Families, Cognition, Child Development, Memory, Neurocognition, Abnorma Psychology, Humans, Child, IQ, Copy Number Variation, Neural pathways, Memory Cognitive Psychology, and Age of Onset
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Schizophrenia Research, Volume 98, Issue null, Pages 128, February 2008, Authors:M. Kyriakopoulos; R. Perez-Iglesias; JB Woolley; RAA Kanaan; NS Vyas; GJ Barker; S. Frangou; PK McGuire.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the T102C polymorphism on the 5HT2A gene and cognitive function as well as clinical manifestations in patients with schizophrenia. Eighty-two outpatients with schizophrenia... more
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the T102C polymorphism on the 5HT2A gene and cognitive function as well as clinical manifestations in patients with schizophrenia. Eighty-two outpatients with schizophrenia participated in this study. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was used to assess the severity of each patient&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s symptoms. In order to evaluate their short-term attention capacity, a Digit Span Test was used. The Continuous Performance Test (CPT) was used to test the sustained attention span of each of the subjects. Cognitive flexibility was measured with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The polymorphism of the 5-HT2A gene at codon 102 (T/C) was genotyped by sequence specific polymerase chain reaction. The T allele at codon 102 correlated with a lower hit rate and more commission errors in the CPT and patients with the heterogeneous genotype (TC) had more commission errors than those who were of homogeneous type (CC or TT). Patients with the TC genotype also had significantly fewer correct responses in the WCST compared to those who were type CC or TT. No relationship was found to exist between the C allele and cognitive variables. There was also no relationship established between the codon 102 polymorphism and clinical parameters. These findings suggest that the TC genotype might be related to certain cognitive impairments in patients with schizophrenia.