Elsevier

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 69, Issue 10, 15 May 2011, Pages 945-952
Biological Psychiatry

Archival Report
Neuroanatomic Predictors to Prodromal Psychosis in Velocardiofacial Syndrome (22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome): A Longitudinal Study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.10.027Get rights and content

Background

Up to 30% of young adults with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS; 22q11.2 deletion syndrome) develop schizophrenia or psychosis. Identifying the neuroanatomic trajectories that increase risk for psychosis in youth with this genetic disorder is of great interest.

Methods

We acquired high-resolution anatomic magnetic resonance images and measures of psychiatric function on 72 youth with VCFS, 26 unaffected siblings, and 24 age-matched community control subjects at two time points: between late childhood (mean age 11.9 years) and mid-adolescence (mean age 15.1 years).

Results

With the exception of cranial gray matter and orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex, neuroanatomic trajectories in youth with VCFS were comparable to unaffected siblings and community control subjects during this developmental window. However, in youth with VCFS, longitudinal decreases in the volumes of cranial gray and white matter, prefrontal cortex, mesial temporal lobe, and cerebellum were associated with increased combined prodromal symptoms at Time 2. In contrast, only decreases in temporal lobe gray matter volumes (p < .002) and verbal IQ (p < .002) predicted specifically to positive prodromal symptoms of psychosis at Time 2.

Conclusions

These findings are in line with studies of non-VCFS individuals at risk for schizophrenia and suggest that early decrements in temporal lobe gray matter may be predictive of increased risk of prodromal psychotic symptoms in youth with VCFS.

Section snippets

Participants

One hundred fifty-six participants were enrolled in the longitudinal study of risk factors for psychosis in VCFS. Recruitment methods were described previously (29). Families of children with cytogenetically confirmed VCFS were recruited from the VCFS International Center at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Unaffected siblings of VCFS participants were included as a separate study group to account for potential familial effects on development. Community control subjects were recruited through

Sample Characteristics

At Time 1, 86 youth with VCFS (mean age = 11.9 years, SD = 2.1), 33 siblings of youth with VCFS (sibling control; mean age = 12.3 years, SD = 2.0) and an age- and sex-matched group of 37 community control subjects (mean age = 12.1 years, SD = 1.8) participated. No age [F(2,155) = .55, p = .575, η2 = .007] or sex [χ2 (df = 2) = 2.78, p = .25] differences existed between the groups at Time 1.

One hundred twenty-two youth returned for Time 2 follow-up. Time 2 participants included 72 youth with

Discussion

In this longitudinal study, we observed that at Time 1, adjusted volumes of frontal gray and white matter, amygdala, and lateral ventricles were increased in participants with VCFS relative to siblings and control subjects, whereas adjusted volumes of occipital gray and white matter and cerebellum were decreased. Neuroanatomic trajectories between Times 1 and 2 were comparable among groups for most regions of interest, except cranial gray matter, which decreased in siblings but not control

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