title: A developmental look at the attentional system in the at risk and first episode of psychosis: age related changes in attention along the psychosis spectrum.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neurodevelopmental processes of adolescence, when superimposed on a vulnerable brain, may produce additive effects reflecting the subthreshold psychotic symptoms, cognitive, and functional deterioration that are the hallmark of the early stages of schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  As part of a longitudinal study, we investigated Continuous Performance Task, Identical Pairs Version (CPT-IP) performance in a sample of 301 participants (at risk for psychosis: 109; first episode-FE: 90; and controls: 102). Performance across groups was compared using d' of fast and slow, spatial and verbal conditions over two time points. Age effects were investigated using a regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across all four CPT-IP conditions FE patients performed significantly worse than controls while AR individuals significantly differed from healthy subjects in the verbal condition. Age-related performance associations across groups significantly differed in the slow verbal condition because the FE sample did not show a significant association with increasing age like the AR and NC samples. CPT performance was stable over time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sustained attention in the putative prodrome of psychosis is not only impaired but associated with age. Research focusing on cognitive and neurobiological age-related changes can help to address fundamental questions about the nature of the disorder, including whether the underlying pathophysiology of early psychosis is static or deteriorating.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093-0810, USA.
authors.forename: Heline
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mirzakhanian
authors.forename: Fiza
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seeber
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Shafer
authors.forename: Kristin S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Cadenhead
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D018450:Disease Progression; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012306:Risk; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents