99. An Integrative Approach to Test the Relationship Between Social Impairment and the Development of Psychosis
Year: 2017
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Background: Despite the known importance of impaired social functioning in the pathway to psychosis, there is no clear understanding about the etiological underpinnings of this relationship. A number of hypothesis have been proposed, including the idea that (1) social impairment is an independent contributor to psychosis risk, (2) social impairment and psychosis are two independent outings of the same genetic vulnerability, and that (3) social impairment may be the confounding results from brain abnormalities that are directly associated with psychosis risk. Our objective was to combine imaging, clinical and genome-wide association data to dissect how early disruptions in social functioning are related to psychotic experiences. Methods: We combined data on social functioning, the social brain (fMRI faces task), SCZ and ASD polygenic risk scores (PRS) and psychotic experiences (CAPE scores) from 2,257 participants (mean age 14.4 (SD = .41)) of the multi-centered IMAGEN study (Schumann et al., 2010) that were followed-up between from age 14 to 18. By means of univariate analyses of covariance and regression analyses, we mapped the severity and developmental trajectories of social functioning (assessed at age 14, 16, and 18) and examined the interrelationship between genetic vulnerability, deviations in the social brain areas and psychotic experiences at age 18. Results: We found compelling evidence for the first hypothesis, indicating independent associations between social functioning problems (t = −10.69, P < .001), and between PRS for psychosis (P = .001) and the development of psychotic experiences at age 18. There was no significant interaction between PRS * social functioning, which may indicate that peer problems and high polygenic risk are 2 independent pathways to psychotic experiences. Our data are currently being linked to data on deviations in the social brain, which will be presented at ICOSR as well. Conclusion: Our results underscore both the significance and complexity of premorbid social functioning in the pathway to psychosis and may indicate that early social impairment and high polygenic risk are two independent pathways to psychotic experiences. There is a paucity of knowledge about the genetic contribution to the development of social impairment in psychosis and our findings may provide important new directions to this field.
Source: Schizophrenia Bulletin
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2603637972