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The possibility of diagnosing psychosis before symptoms appear is gaining traction, thanks to research from the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rochester. Scientists have identified a potential biomarker in the brain, revealed through MRI scans, that could improve the timing of interventions and offer more personalized care for individuals at risk of developing psychosis.
A study published in Molecular Psychiatry analyzed MRI data from 159 participants, including 105 who developed a psychotic disorder up to five years before testing. The research revealed distinct patterns of brain connectivity in participants with psychosis. Sensory regions in the cortex, responsible for bodily sensations and movement, were more weakly connected to each other but more strongly connected to the thalamus, the brain's information relay center.
These connectivity differences were confined to two specific networks in the brain: the somatomotor network, which processes bodily movement and sensations, and the visual network, which handles representations of objects, faces, and other complex visual features. Combining the dysconnectivity patterns from these two networks allowed the researchers to identify a "somato-visual" biomarker with high reliability across scans.
Notably, this biomarker was robust against potential confounding factors, such as antipsychotic use, anxiety, and stress.
The current standard of care for psychosis involves diagnostic interviews after symptoms have already appeared. However, early detection could significantly alter treatment outcomes. According to Brian Keane, PhD, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor at the University of Rochester, “A single five-minute scan could potentially improve our ability to predict which at-risk individuals will transition to a psychotic disorder, which in turn could allow for more timely treatments or interventions.”
Keane emphasized the next steps for the research: “It also gives us a place to keep looking. An important next step will be to determine if the somato-visual biomarker emerges before or as psychosis begins.”
By identifying individuals at risk earlier, this biomarker could pave the way for new treatment strategies and more precise classifications of psychotic disorders, potentially stratifying patients into clinically meaningful subgroups for targeted care.
This study also builds on prior research linking abnormal brain connectivity to schizophrenia, while clarifying which brain networks are most affected. Future research will focus on whether this biomarker can predict psychosis before symptoms appear and how it might be implemented in clinical practice to improve patient outcomes.