Insular cortex gray matter changes in individuals at ultra-high-risk of developing psychosis

Abstract

Morphologic abnormalities of the insular cortex have been described in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, but it remains unclear whether these changes predate the onset of psychosis or develop progressively over the course of illness. In this study, we used magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the gray matter volume of the long and short insular cortices in 97 neuroleptic-naïve individuals at ultra-high-risk (UHR) for developing psychosis [of whom 31 (32%) later developed psychosis (UHR-P) and 66 (68%) did not (UHR-NP)] and 55 age- and gender-matched healthy comparisons. We also conducted a longitudinal comparison of the insular cortex gray matter changes in 31 UHR individuals (..