Differential effects of illness and antipsychotics on cortical thinning in first episode psychosis: A randomised placebo-controlled MRI study

Abstract

Background Cortical grey matter loss is a common finding in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies of psychosis and can progress with ongoing illness. A major unresolved question concerns whether these changes are driven by the illness or represent iatrogenic effects of antipsychotics. Methods In a triple-blind randomised placebo-controlled MRI study, 62 antipsychotic-naïve people with first-episode psychosis (FEP) received a second-generation antipsychotic or placebo over 6 months (n=35 at 12 months), alongside a healthy control group (n=27 at baseline, n=21 at 12 months). T1-weighted scans were collected at baseline, 3, and 12 months. Linear mixed effects models fitted to >160,000 cortic..