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Machine learning approaches using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) can be informative for disease classification, although their ability to predict psychosis is largely unknown. We created a model with individuals at CHR who developed psychosis later (CHR-PS+) from healthy controls (HCs) that can differentiate each other. We also evaluated whether we could distinguish CHR-PS+ individuals from those who did not develop psychosis later (CHR-PS-) and those with uncertain follow-up status (CHR-UNK). T1-weighted structural brain MRI scans from 1165 individuals at CHR (CHR-PS+, n = 144; CHR-PS-, n = 793; and CHR-UNK, n = 228), and 1029 HCs, were obtained from 21 sites. We used ComBat to harmonize measures of subcortical volume, cortical thickness and surface area data and corrected for non-linear effects of age and sex using a general additive model. CHR-PS+ (n = 120) and HC (n = 799) data from 20 sites served as a training dataset, which we used to build a classifier. The remaining samples were used external validation datasets to evaluate classifier performance (test, independent confirmatory, and independent group [CHR-PS- and CHR-UNK] datasets). The accuracy of the classifier on the training and independent confirmatory datasets was 85% and 73% respectively. Regional cortical surface area measures-including those from the right superior frontal, right superior temporal, and bilateral insular cortices strongly contributed to classifying CHR-PS+ from HC. CHR-PS- and CHR-UNK individuals were more likely to be classified as HC compared to CHR-PS+ (classification rate to HC: CHR-PS+, 30%; CHR-PS-, 73%; CHR-UNK, 80%). We used multisite sMRI to train a classifier to predict psychosis onset in CHR individuals, and it showed promise predicting CHR-PS+ in an independent sample. The results suggest that when considering adolescent brain development, baseline MRI scans for CHR individuals may be helpful to identify their prognosis. Future prospective studies are required about whether the classifier could be actually helpful in the clinical settings.

BackgroundVideo game loot boxes, which can typically be purchased by players or are given as reward, contain random virtual items, or loot, ranging from simple customization options for a player's avatar or character, to game-changing equipment such as weapons and armor. Loot boxes have drawn concern, as purchasing loot boxes might lead to the development of problematic gambling for adolescents. Although parental problem gambling is associated with adolescent problem gambling, no studies have evaluated the prevalence of loot box purchases in adolescents’ parents. ObjectiveThis study investigated the association between loot box purchasing among adolescents and parents, and problem online gaming in population-based samples. MethodsIn total, 1615 adolescent (aged 14 years) gamers from Japan responded to a questionnaire regarding their loot box purchasing and problem online gaming behaviors. Problem online gaming was defined as four or more of the nine addictive behaviors from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The adolescents’ primary caregivers were asked about their loot box purchasing. ResultsOf the 1615 participants, 57 (3.5%) reported loot box purchasing. This prevalence did not differ according to primary caregivers’ loot box purchasing, but adolescents who purchased loot boxes were significantly more likely to exhibit problem online gaming (odds ratio 3.75, 95% CI 2.17-6.48). ConclusionsAdolescent loot box purchasing is linked to problem online gaming, but not with parents’ loot box purchasing. Measures to reduce these behaviors should target reducing addictive symptoms in young video gamers.

Differential diagnosis is sometimes difficult in practical psychiatric settings, in terms of using the current diagnostic system based on presenting symptoms and signs. The creation of a novel diagnostic system using objective biomarkers is expected to take place. Neuroimaging studies and others reported that subcortical brain structures are the hubs for various psycho-behavioral functions, while there are so far no neuroimaging data-driven clinical criteria overcoming limitations of the current diagnostic system, which would reflect cognitive/social functioning. Prior to the main analysis, we conducted a large-scale multisite study of subcortical volumetric and lateralization alterations in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and autism spectrum disorder using T1-weighted images of 5604 subjects (3078 controls and 2526 patients). We demonstrated larger lateral ventricles volume in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, smaller hippocampus volume in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia-specific smaller amygdala, thalamus, and accumbens volumes and larger caudate, putamen, and pallidum volumes. In addition, we observed a leftward alteration of lateralization for pallidum volume specifically in schizophrenia. Moreover, as our main objective, we clustered the 5,604 subjects based on subcortical volumes, and explored whether data-driven clustering results can explain cognitive/social functioning in the subcohorts. We showed a four-biotype classification, namely extremely (Brain Biotype [BB] 1) and moderately smaller limbic regions (BB2), larger basal ganglia (BB3), and normal volumes (BB4), being associated with cognitive/social functioning. Specifically, BB1 and BB2-3 were associated with severe and mild cognitive/social impairment, respectively, while BB4 was characterized by normal cognitive/social functioning. Our results may lead to the future creation of novel biological data-driven psychiatric diagnostic criteria, which may be expected to be useful for prediction or therapeutic selection.

According to the operational diagnostic criteria, psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are classified based on symptoms. While its cluster of symptoms defines each of these psychiatric disorders, there is also an overlap in symptoms between the disorders. We hypothesized that there are also similarities and differences in cortical structural neuroimaging features among these psychiatric disorders. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed for 5,549 subjects recruited from 14 sites. Effect sizes were determined using a linear regression model within each protocol, and these effect sizes were meta-analyzed. The similarity of the differences in cortical thickness and surface area of each disorder group was calculated using cosine similarity, which was calculated from the effect sizes of each cortical regions. The thinnest cortex was found in SZ, followed by BD and MDD. The cosine similarity values between disorders were 0.943 for SZ and BD, 0.959 for SZ and MDD, and 0.943 for BD and MDD, which indicated that a common pattern of cortical thickness alterations was found among SZ, BD, and MDD. Additionally, a generally smaller cortical surface area was found in SZ and MDD than in BD, and the effect was larger in SZ. The cosine similarity values between disorders were 0.945 for SZ and MDD, 0.867 for SZ and ASD, and 0.811 for MDD and ASD, which indicated a common pattern of cortical surface area alterations among SZ, MDD, and ASD. Patterns of alterations in cortical thickness and surface area were revealed in the four major psychiatric disorders. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a cross-disorder analysis conducted on four major psychiatric disorders. Cross-disorder brain imaging research can help to advance our understanding of the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders and common symptoms.

Background: The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is characterised by a changing pattern of overlapping intellectual, physical, and mental disabilities along the course of one's life. However, the impact of overlapping disorders (multimorbidity) on educational challenges remains unclear. Method: A survey was conducted with 88 caregivers of individuals with 22q11DS. A quantitative analysis of educational challenges and support needs divided into age groups (7-12, 13-15, 16-18, and 19 years and over) and a qualitative analysis of the free-text items in the questionnaire was conducted. Results: Caregivers were more interested in comprehensive developmental support when their children were younger, and the emphasis shifted to concerns regarding environments that matched individual characteristics at older ages. Furthermore, when there are multiple disabilities or disorders, support is concentrated on the more obvious disabilities, and the lack of support for the less superficially obvious disabilities associated with multiple difficulties, including mental health problems, can be a challenge for people with 22q11DS and their families. Conclusions: This study suggests a need for increased focus on multimorbidity and associated disabilities in school education that are difficult to observe because of their mildness or borderline levels if present alone.

Individuals at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis (CHR-P) demonstrate heterogeneity in clinical profiles and outcome features. However, the extent of neuroanatomical heterogeneity in the CHR-P state is largely undetermined. We aimed to quantify the neuroanatomical heterogeneity in structural magnetic resonance imaging measures of cortical surface area (SA), cortical thickness (CT), subcortical volume (SV), and intracranial volume (ICV) in CHR-P individuals compared with healthy controls (HC), and in relation to subsequent transition to a first episode of psychosis. The ENIGMA CHR-P consortium applied a harmonised analysis to neuroimaging data across 29 international sites, including 1579 CHR-P individuals and 1243 HC, offering the largest pooled CHR-P neuroimaging dataset to date. Regional heterogeneity was indexed with the Variability Ratio (VR) and Coefficient of Variation (CV) ratio applied at the group level. Personalised estimates of heterogeneity of SA, CT and SV brain profiles were indexed with the novel Person-Based Similarity Index (PBSI), with two complementary applications. First, to assess the extent of within-diagnosis similarity or divergence of neuroanatomical profiles between individuals. Second, using a normative modelling approach, to assess the 'normativeness' of neuroanatomical profiles in individuals at CHR-P. CHR-P individuals demonstrated no greater regional heterogeneity after applying FDR corrections. However, PBSI scores indicated significantly greater neuroanatomical divergence in global SA, CT and SV profiles in CHR-P individuals compared with HC. Normative PBSI analysis identified 11 CHR-P individuals (0.70%) with marked deviation (>1.5 SD) in SA, 118 (7.47%) in CT and 161 (10.20%) in SV. Psychosis transition was not significantly associated with any measure of heterogeneity. Overall, our examination of neuroanatomical heterogeneity within the CHR-P state indicated greater divergence in neuroanatomical profiles at an individual level, irrespective of psychosis conversion. Further large-scale investigations are required of those who demonstrate marked deviation.

Identifying both the commonalities and differences in brain structures among psychiatric disorders is important for understanding the pathophysiology. Recently, the ENIGMA-Schizophrenia DTI Working Group performed a large-scale meta-analysis and reported widespread white matter microstructural alterations in schizophrenia; however, no similar cross-disorder study has been carried out to date. Here, we conducted mega-analyses comparing white matter microstructural differences between healthy comparison subjects (HCS; N = 1506) and patients with schizophrenia (N = 696), bipolar disorder (N = 211), autism spectrum disorder (N = 126), or major depressive disorder (N = 398; total N = 2937 from 12 sites). In comparison with HCS, we found that schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder share similar white matter microstructural differences in the body of the corpus callosum; schizophrenia and bipolar disorder featured comparable changes in the limbic system, such as the fornix and cingulum. By comparison, alterations in tracts connecting neocortical areas, such as the uncinate fasciculus, were observed only in schizophrenia. No significant difference was found in major depressive disorder. In a direct comparison between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, there were no significant differences. Significant differences between schizophrenia/bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder were found in the limbic system, which were similar to the differences in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder relative to HCS. While schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may have similar pathological characteristics, the biological characteristics of major depressive disorder may be close to those of HCS. Our findings provide insights into nosology and encourage further investigations of shared and unique pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders.

Background: Understanding the etiology of psychosis is essential to the development of preventive interventions. The COVID‐19 pandemic provides a rare natural experiment that can expand our understanding of the role of social factors in the trajectories and etiology of psychosis across adolescence, particularly in Tokyo where the prevalence of actual COVID‐19 infection remained low. We hypothesized that the likelihood of self‐reporting psychotic experiences (PEs) would increase following the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: The Tokyo Teen Cohort (TTC) is a prospective cohort study of adolescents in the general population of the Tokyo metropolitan area, followed from age 10 to 16 years. We used multi‐level linear regression models to test the associations between the phase of the COVID‐19 pandemic and self‐reported PEs. Results: Among 1935 adolescents included in the analysis, a rapid increase in PEs occurred at the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic, following approximately 6 years of steady decline across prior waves. This association was more pronounced for boys compared to girls. This increase became more pronounced as the pandemic moved into later phases, defined based on contemporaneous sociopolitical changes in Tokyo (i.e. changes to school closure, social distancing guidelines, and the state of emergency status). Conclusions: The steady decline in PEs across adolescence was halted and reversed concurrent with the COVID‐19 pandemic onset, despite very low rates of COVID‐19 infection. This implicates COVID‐19 related socioenvironmental factors as contributory etiological factors in the development of PEs in this adolescent cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]