Cognitive and Clinical Predictors of Prefrontal Cortical Thickness Change Following First-Episode of Psychosis. (30th August 2020) - Tronchin, Giulia
Highlights: Longitudinal pipeline of Freesurfer was used to parcellate prefrontal cortex FEP at baseline showed specific cognitive deficits compared with controls Prefrontal thinning over time was predicted by impaired working memory at baseline Emotional intelligence deficit at baseline predicts orbitofrontal thinning over time Negative symptoms worsening occurs with prefrontal thinning as illness progresses Abstract: The association of neuroanatomical progression with cognitive and clinical deterioration after first-episode of psychosis remains uncertain. This longitudinal study aims to assess whether i)impaired executive functioning and emotional intelligence at first presentation are associated with progressive prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortical thinning ii)negative symptom severity is linked to progressive prefrontal cortical thinning. 1.5T MRI images were acquired at baseline and after 3.5 years for 20 individuals with first-episode psychosis and 18 controls. The longitudinal pipeline of Freesurfer was employed to parcellate prefrontal cortex at two time points. Baseline cognitive performance was compared between diagnostic groups using MANCOVA. Partial correlations investigated relationships between cognition and negative symptoms at baseline and cortical thickness change over time. Patients displayed poorer performance than controls at baseline in working memory, reasoning/problem solving and emotional intelligence. In patients, loss of prefrontal and orbitofrontal thickness over time was predicted by impaired working memory and emotional intelligence respectively at baseline. Moreover, exploratory analyses revealed that the worsening of negative symptoms over time was significantly related to prefrontal cortical thinning. Results indicate that specific cognitive deficits at the onset of psychotic illness are markers of progressive neuroanatomical deficits and that worsening of negative symptoms occurs with prefrontal thickness reduction as the illness progresses.