TY - JOUR

T1 - Do young adolescents with first-episode psychosis or ADHD show sensorimotor gating deficits?

AU - Rydkjaer, Jacob

AU - Jepsen, Jens Richardt Moellegaard

AU - Pagsberg, Anne Katrine

AU - Fagerlund, Birgitte

AU - Glenthoej, Birte Yding

AU - Oranje, Bob

PY - 2020/3

Y1 - 2020/3

N2 - BackgroundEarly identification is important for patients with early-onset schizophrenia (SZ). Assessment of (candidate) endophenotypic markers for SZ, such as prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex (PPI), may help distinguish between the early-onset SZ and other psychiatric disorders. We explored whether PPI deficits usually seen in adult-onset SZ are present in young adolescents with either early-onset psychosis or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).MethodsTwenty-five adolescents with first-episode, non-affective psychosis (FEP), 28 adolescents with ADHD and 43 healthy controls (HC), aged 12-17 years, were assessed with an auditory PPI paradigm.ResultsNo significant group differences were found in PPI. However, when the FEP group was divided into those already diagnosed with SZ (n = 13) and those without (N-SZ) (n = 12), and all four groups (SZ, N-SZ, ADHD and HC) were compared on percentage PPI in the 85/60 trials, significantly less PPI was found in patients with SZ than in the HC as well as the ADHD group. No significant group differences were found in explorative analyses on the other trial types. Additionally, startle magnitude was significantly higher in SZ than in N-SZ patients.ConclusionYoung adolescents with SZ showed sensorimotor gating deficits similar to those usually found in adults with SZ and had larger startle magnitude than patients with other types of non-affective early-onset psychosis. No sensorimotor gating deficits were found in adolescents with ADHD. Our findings support the theory that deficient PPI is endophenotypic for SZ.

AB - BackgroundEarly identification is important for patients with early-onset schizophrenia (SZ). Assessment of (candidate) endophenotypic markers for SZ, such as prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex (PPI), may help distinguish between the early-onset SZ and other psychiatric disorders. We explored whether PPI deficits usually seen in adult-onset SZ are present in young adolescents with either early-onset psychosis or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).MethodsTwenty-five adolescents with first-episode, non-affective psychosis (FEP), 28 adolescents with ADHD and 43 healthy controls (HC), aged 12-17 years, were assessed with an auditory PPI paradigm.ResultsNo significant group differences were found in PPI. However, when the FEP group was divided into those already diagnosed with SZ (n = 13) and those without (N-SZ) (n = 12), and all four groups (SZ, N-SZ, ADHD and HC) were compared on percentage PPI in the 85/60 trials, significantly less PPI was found in patients with SZ than in the HC as well as the ADHD group. No significant group differences were found in explorative analyses on the other trial types. Additionally, startle magnitude was significantly higher in SZ than in N-SZ patients.ConclusionYoung adolescents with SZ showed sensorimotor gating deficits similar to those usually found in adults with SZ and had larger startle magnitude than patients with other types of non-affective early-onset psychosis. No sensorimotor gating deficits were found in adolescents with ADHD. Our findings support the theory that deficient PPI is endophenotypic for SZ.

KW - ADHD

KW - endophenotype

KW - neuropsychiatry

KW - psychosis

KW - schizophrenia

KW - PREPULSE INHIBITION DEFICITS

KW - ACOUSTIC STARTLE RESPONSE

KW - HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER

KW - ANTIPSYCHOTIC-NAIVE

KW - EARLY-ONSET

KW - ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOTICS

KW - SCHIZOPHRENIA-PATIENTS

KW - BASE-LINE

KW - ATTENTION

KW - REFLEX

U2 - 10.1017/S0033291719000412

DO - 10.1017/S0033291719000412

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 30873927

VL - 50

SP - 607

EP - 615

JO - Psychological Medicine

JF - Psychological Medicine

SN - 0033-2917

IS - 4

ER -