title: Gyral and sulcal cortical thinning in adolescents with first episode early-onset psychosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Psychosis is associated with volumetric decreases of cortical structures. Whether these volumetric decreases imply abnormalities in cortical thickness, surface, or cortical folding is not clear. Due to differences in cytoarchitecture, cortical gyri and sulci might be differentially affected by psychosis. Therefore, we examined differences in gyral and sulcal cortical thickness, surface, folding, and volume between a minimally treated male adolescent population with early-onset first-episode psychosis (EOP) and a healthy control group, with surface-based morphometry.
  
  
  METHODS
  Magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were obtained from 49 adolescent EOP patients and 34 healthy control subjects. Subjects were younger than 18 years (age range 12 years-18 years), and EOP patients had a duration of positive symptoms of <6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Early-onset first-episode psychosis was associated with local bilateral cortical thinning and volume deficits in both the gyri and sulci of the superior temporal cortex and the inferior, middle, medial, and superior prefrontal cortex. In the pars triangularis and opercularis cortex of patients, gyral cortical thickness was thinner, whereas sulcal thickness was not. Patients exhibited cortical thinning together with a decreased degree of cortical folding in the right superior frontal cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cortical thinning of both gyri and sulci seem to underlie most cortical volume deficits in adolescent patients with EOP. Except for the right superior frontal region, the degree of cortical folding was normal in regions showing decreased cortical thickness, suggesting that the process of cortical thinning in adolescent patients with EOP primarily takes place after the formation of cortical folds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, CIBERSAM, Spain. jjanssen@mce.hggm.es
authors.forename: Joost
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reig
authors.forename: Yasser
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Alemán
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schnack
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Udias
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parellada
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graell
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Arantzazu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zabala
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Balaban
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Desco
authors.forename: Celso
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arango
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents