Advancements in neuroscience are shedding new light on the underlying mechanisms of psychosis, a hallmark of conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Through innovative brain scanning techniques and machine learning, scientists have honed in on the pivotal brain regions implicated in these disturbances of reality.
The prevailing theory posits that during psychosis, specific brain networks responsible for directing attention malfunction, triggering hallucinations and delusions. These disturbances, while commonly associated with severe mental disorders, can also manifest independently, underscoring the complexity of the human mind.
The recent study, detailed in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, pursued a deeper understanding of psychosis onset from an early age, potentially paving the way for earlier interventions and improved treatments. Lead author Kaustubh Supekar, from Stanford University School of Medicine, emphasized that these abnormalities emerge early, even as young as 7 or 8 years old.
To uncover these abnormalities, researchers focused on individuals aged 6 to 39 with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, a genetic condition associated with psychosis. Utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), they examined nearly 900 participants, including those with and without psychosis, as well as individuals with ADHD and autism for comparison.
Through a novel machine learning algorithm, the team identified distinctive patterns in brain activity within the “salience network,” crucial for regulating attention. Specifically, they pinpointed anomalies in two key components: the anterior insula, responsible for filtering irrelevant information, and the ventral striatum, involved in predicting the significance of stimuli.
These findings align with previous structural and functional hypotheses about psychosis and the salience network, providing further validation of existing theories. Importantly, they offer potential targets for intervention, with researchers planning to explore treatments like brain stimulation to mitigate psychosis risk.
By elucidating the neural underpinnings of psychosis, this research represents a significant step towards more effective interventions and a deeper understanding of complex mental disorders.”
