University of Melbourne researchers have identified a variety of intellectual impairments, such as difficulties young people have in remembering new information, that could be a marker for later psychosis.
Researchers from the ORYGEN Research Centre and Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, (both part of the University’s Department of Psychiatry) and the Department of Psychology, say this is the first large-scale study to examine a broad range of neuropsychological abilities in people considered at ultra-high risk of developing psychosis.
The study, published this month in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that people considered to be at ultra-high risk had significant impairments in IQ and aspects of visual and verbal learning when compared to people of low-psychosis risk.
The researchers also found differences between people in the high-risk group – those that did actually go on to develop a psychotic illness during the course of the study were also the ones with particular problems in learning and remembering stories and pictures before any indication they had an illness.
Researcher Dr Warrick Brewer says, “Overall, the ultra-high risk patients who became psychotic performed significantly more poorly on a verbal memory test than those who did not develop psychosis.”
“These findings are extremely important because they tell us that significant problems in thinking are apparent before the onset of psychotic illness, so may provide warning signals of impending psychosis.”
The research is also important because it gives a clue to the areas of the brain that are not performing to their potential in the weeks or months before a psychotic illness manifests.
Dr Shona Francey who is also involved in the research says, “If we can identify changes occurring in the brain before, during and after the onset of a psychotic illness it will enable us to further understand the progression of these illnesses, and hopefully ways to prevent them.”