THE IMPACT OF AGE OF ONSET AND ILLNESS DURATION ON WHITE MATTER AND COGNITION TRAJECTORIES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA: A 7-YEAR FOLLOW-UP STUDY ACROSS MULTIPLE TIME-POINTS

Abstract

Schizophrenia is characterized by cognitive deficits persisting throughout the illness from the first episode. These deficits may be associated with disruptions in white matter (WM) connectivity. Steeper age-related reductions in WM have been found in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls (HC), but it is unclear if these reductions are mainly influenced by age of illness onset, duration of illness, or an interaction between the two. Previous longitudinal studies of WM microstructure (measured with fractional anisotropy) have predominantly investigated medicated patients at two time-points and follow-up periods are generally limited to months. We aim to examine the impact of age..