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Dermatoglyphic asymmetries and fronto‐striatal dysfunction in young adults reporting non‐clinical psychosis
Author(s) -
Mittal V. A.,
Dean D. J.,
Pelletier A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2012.01869.x
Subject(s) - psychosis , psychology , diathesis , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychiatry , young adult , context (archaeology) , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , medicine , immunology , biology , paleontology
Mittal VA, Dean DJ, Pelletier A. Dermatoglyphic asymmetries and fronto‐striatal dysfunction in young adults reporting non‐clinical psychosis. Objective: Growing evidence indicates that non‐clinical psychotic‐like experiences occur in otherwise healthy individuals, suggesting that psychosis may occur on a continuum. However, little is known about how the diathesis for formal psychosis maps on to individuals at the non‐clinical side of this continuum. Our current understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia implicates certain key factors such as early developmental abnormalities and fronto‐striatal dysfunction. To date, no studies have examined these core factors in the context of non‐clinical psychosis. Method: A total of 221 young adults were assessed for distressing attenuated positive symptoms (DAPS), dermatoglyphic asymmetries (a marker of early developmental insult), and procedural memory (a proxy for fronto‐striatal function). Results: Participants reporting DAPS ( n = 16; 7.2%) and no‐DAPS ( n = 205; 92.7%) were split into two groups. The DAPS group showed significantly elevated depression, elevated dermatoglyphic asymmetries, and a pattern of procedural learning consistent with other studies with formally psychotic patients. Conclusion: The results indicate that the non‐clinical side of the psychosis continuum also shares key vulnerability factors implicated in schizophrenia, suggesting that both early developmental disruption and abnormalities in fronto‐striatal function are core aspects underlying the disorder.