This is the first large-scale study to look at a wide range of cognitive abilities in people thought to be at a high risk of eventually developing psychosis.
Within the high-risk group, those who had specific problems learning and remembering pictures and stories were more likely to develop psychosis during the course of the study than those without the problems.
Researcher Dr Warrick Brewer says, ?Overall, the ultra-high risk patients who became psychotic performed significantly more poorly on a verbal memory test than those who did not develop psychosis.?
?These findings are extremely important because they tell us that significant problems in thinking are apparent before the onset of psychotic illness, so may provide warning signals of impending psychosis.?
Another important aspect of the research is the clues it provides to what regions of the brain are underperforming in the weeks preceeding a psychotic illness.
Dr Shona Francey who is also involved in the research says, ?If we can identify changes occurring in the brain before, during and after the onset of a psychotic illness it will enable us to further understand the progression of these illnesses, and hopefully ways to prevent them.?
To date most studies have focussed on people at risk for developing schizophrenia. This study includes other psychotic illnesses.
?Psychotic illnesses are often associated with a wide range of conditions including major depressive disorder, anxiety and panic disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, along with many others,? Dr Brewer says.
?We felt that by focussing just on schizophrenia, it was unclear whether impairments in mental functioning before the onset of the illness were specific to schizophrenia or common to a range of psychoses.?
?Our findings suggest that these impairments are a feature of psychosis in general.?
