Peer-reviewed article
O10.3. EARLY BRAIN AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN AT RISK FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA
Murphy V, Short S, Cornea E, Goldman B, Li G et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined brain development and cognitive abilities in 25 young children whose mothers have schizophrenia, compared to 178 control children, using MRI scans and developmental assessments at birth and at ages 1 and 2 years. Children at risk for schizophrenia showed significantly lower cognitive scores across multiple domains including language and motor skills at both ages. The research found gender differences in brain structure, with girls showing reduced gray matter volume and boys showing increased gray matter volume. The findings suggest that brain abnormalities linked to schizophrenia risk appear very early in childhood, potentially before the teenage prodromal phase typically studied.
Key points
- High-risk children had significantly lower cognitive scores on the Mullen Scales at age 1 (p=0.0078) and age 2 (p=0.0001)
- Reductions were present across fine motor, expressive and receptive language scales at both ages
- Female high-risk children showed reduced gray matter volumes after birth and at age 1 year
- Male high-risk children showed increased gray matter volumes at ages 1 and 2 years
- Brain structure and cognitive abnormalities are evident shortly after birth, suggesting intervention may need to target early childhood rather than adolescence
Limitations
The study does not specify the country or specific population characteristics. The sample sizes differ substantially between groups (25 high-risk vs 178 controls), and the document does not discuss long-term follow-up or whether early cognitive differences predict later schizophrenia diagnosis.
Abstract
Abstract Background Currently, most attempts at early identification and intervention for individuals at risk for schizophrenia focus on the prodromal phase of the illness during adolescence. However, cognitive and other deficits likely arise well before the prodromal phase. Many risk genes for schizophrenia play a role in early brain development, and recent studies indicate that the basic structural and functional networks of the brain are in place by the second year of life. This suggests that schizophrenia likely has origins in prenatal and early childhood brain development, and that early identification and intervention may need to be shifted to this developmental period to have a real impact on the incidence and severity of schizophrenia. Methods We studied early childhood brain development 25 children of mothers with schizophrenia and 178 control children. Children had a 3T MRI after birth and at 1 and 2 years of age, and global tissue volumes (gray matter, white matter, CSF), ventricle volumes, and cortical thickness and surface area were determined. Children were also assessed with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning at 1 and 2 years. Results Children at risk for schizophrenia had significantly lower Mullen Composite scores at both age 1 (p=0.0078) and 2 years (p=0.0001) compared to control children. Reductions were present in fine motor, expressive and receptive language scales at both ages. Overall, high-risk children did not differ from controls in global tissue volumes, though there was evidence of a gender effect. Female high-risk children tended to have reduced gray matter volumes after birth and at age 1 year (significant reduction after birth, p =0.018), while males tended have increased gray matter volumes at age 1 and 2 years (significant at 1 year, p = 0.037). Cortical thickness and surface area results tended to reflect the gray matter volume findings. Females had regions of significant cortical surface area reduction after birth, while males had several regions of significant of cortical surface area expansion at 1 year. Males had a few regions of significant changes of cortical thickness after birth. Discussion In the context of its limitations, this study confirms previous studies that find alterations of very early childhood development in children at risk for schizophrenia. It also indicates that alterations of cortical gray matter are evident in very early childhood, and that there is a gender difference in these alterations, with females having reduced gray matter volumes and males having increased gray matter volumes. Brain structure and cognitive abnormalities associated with risk for schizophrenia are present shortly after birth; future studies may be able to identify very early biomarkers of risk that will not only improve our understanding of how brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia develop, but also define periods of childhood development that can be targeted with early intervention.