Hippocampal volume reduction specific for later transition to psychosis or substance-associated effects?

摘要

We read with great interest the article by Witthaus and colleagues recently published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. The authors found that, compared with controls, patients at ultra-high risk (UHR) had significantly smaller volumes of the hippocampus corpus and tail bilaterally. The UHR patients who later developed psychosis had smaller right hippocampus corpus and tail volumes than did those who did not develop psychosis. The authors concluded that the hippocampal volume reduction may be indicative of the prodromal phase of schizophrenia and may represent a risk factor for transition into psychosis.