The following is a summary of “Reduced slow wave density is associated with worse positive symptoms in clinical high risk: An objective readout of symptom severity for early treatment interventions?” published in the March 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Mayeli et al.
Individuals with a clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) exhibit early psychotic symptoms, which sometimes lead to diagnosable psychotic disorders.
Researchers conducted a prospective study to investigate the relationship between slow-wave (SW) abnormalities and subthreshold psychotic experiences in CHR subjects.
They collected overnight high-density EEG recordings from 37 CHR and 32 healthy control (HC) subjects and compared SW activity and parameters like density and negative peak amplitude between groups. They also examined the relationship between CHR clinical symptoms and SW parameters.
The results showed no difference between the HC and CHR groups. However, CHR individuals with higher positive symptom severity (N=18) demonstrated a reduction in SW density in an EEG cluster involving bilateral prefrontal, parietal, and right occipital regions compared to matched HC individuals. They also found a negative correlation between SW density and positive symptoms across CHR individuals, suggesting a potential target for early treatment interventions.
Investigators concluded that reduced SW density in particular brain regions could correlate with increased severity of positive symptoms in CHR individuals, indicating a potential target for early treatment interventions.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016517812400043X
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