Increased Brain-Age Gap in Young Adults With Psychotic Experiences
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Psychotic experiences (PEs) are linked to structural brain variation, but their relation to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) derived brain-age is unclear. We hypothesized that young adults reporting PEs would show an increased brain-age gap (predicted – chronological age) and that this gap would diverge over ten years. A multilayer perceptron (2,628 training scans; age 6–50 years; mean absolute error = 4.3 years, R 2 = 0.72) estimated brain-age from T1-weighted MRIs in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Participants were scanned at age around 20 years ( n = 245; 124 PEs+) and again at around 30 years ( n = 279; 69 PEs+); 113 contributed both scans. Linear mixed-effects models tested case–control, severity and time-by-group effects. At the initial timepoint, individuals with PEs showed a larger brain-age gap than controls ( d [95 % CI] = 0.70 [0.14, 1.27]; q = .029). The brain-age gap showed a trend association with PE severity ( d [95 % CI] = 1.32 [0.00, 2.64]; q = .098). At the follow-up, the group difference was non-significant ( d [95 % CI] = 0.22 [-0.08, 0.51]; q = .153). No longitudinal case–control divergence reached significance, likely reflecting limited power. Young adults who report PEs display an older-looking brain in early adulthood, consistent with atypical brain maturation. However, the gap does not clearly widen or contract by age 30. Multimodal, longitudinal cohorts spanning adolescence to mid-adulthood are needed to map psychosis-related atypical brain maturation.
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,700
Funders: Wellcome Trust, Chongqing Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, University of Cambridge, European Commission, University of Bristol, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, Southwest University, Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, National Center for Research Resources, European Social Fund
Awards: G1105844351, G1175115578, G1622782223, G1643978601, G1684393010, G1793884970, G210041235, G2262748287, G2274090466, G2601397997, G271487892, G2766024583, G2835452767, Morphometry Biomedical Informatics Research Network, G300979063, Mapping Neurodevelopmental Trajectories for Adult Psychiatric Disorder: ALSPAC-MRI-II, G332925756, G3394703268, G34346518, G3446917742, G3480869486, G3539054359, G35770912, The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): A multi- generation, longitudinal resource focusing on life course health and well- being., G3681454997, 科学发明中原型启发的创造性成分及其脑机制, G387506447, G3987754321, G4042783231, G4104423096, G410571670, Systems Cognitive Neuroscience of Healthy Ageing: Population-Representative Studies of Functional Plasticity and Neural Change, G425668148, G4270917739, G451917667, G491712853, 青少年创造性发展的神经机制及其大脑可塑性：基于横断和纵向跟踪的研究, Functional-anatomic exploration of cognitive control, G5080475149, G5123323947, G5195188938, G5375568414, G5404395142, G546199279, G5539308778, G5560776957, G5662792045, G5866660968, G5967599077, G6081261122, G6218905885, G624877701, G675437911, G7084143925, G7205106625, G7297363870, G7656535037, G7795466796, G7799207878, G7805626310, G7863371703, G8050553183, Antecedent Biomarkers For AD: The Adult Children Study, G8112267310, G8185963011, G8355809004, G8418962699, G8497050386, G8888022036, G929308097
OpenAlex ID: W4415682091