Attention variability during childhood, combined with certain genetic profiles, may influence the risk of psychotic symptoms growing up, a study suggests.
- Study finds that attention problems in childhood, combined with genetic predisposition, increase the risk of psychotic symptoms in adolescence.
- By analyzing data from 10,000 young people, researchers showed that fluctuations in attention play a “mediator” role between genes and psychotic experiences.
- Although these psychotic symptoms do not always lead to serious disorders like schizophrenia, they increase the risk of future mental illnesses. Hence the importance of diagnosing them as early as possible.
Could attention difficulties in childhood predict psychotic disorders in adolescence? This is the hypothesis of new research published in the journal Nature Mental Health : the risks of developing experiences close to psychosis in young people could in particular be influenced by their early attention problems.
Attention, a mediator between genes and psychotic symptoms
Researchers at UCLA Health, in the United States, analyzed data from nearly 10,000 children, from the age of nine and over a period of six years, as part of the ABCD longitudinal study ( Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development). The team’s goal was to determine how variability in attention during childhood, but also certain genetic profiles, could influence the risk of psychotic symptoms later in adolescence, such as unusual perceptions or beliefs. irrational.
It first appeared that children at increased genetic risk for neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, are more likely to experience psychotic symptoms and attention problems. Scientists were able to assess this predisposition using polygenic scores — scores that add up the effects of multiple genetic variants to estimate a person’s risk of developing a psychiatric disorder.
More surprisingly, the researchers found that fluctuating attention played a “mediator” role in the relationship between genes and psychotic symptoms. “Attention problems explained between 4% and 16% of this correlation, they specify in a press release. If attention entirely explained this relationship between genetic predisposition and psychotic experiences, this percentage would be 100%.” Nevertheless: this figure indicates that attention variability acts as a partial but important vector in the appearance of psychotic symptoms in young people.
Identify the predictive factors of psychiatric disorders
However, although the majority of adolescents with psychotic symptoms will not develop disorders such as schizophrenia, these manifestations increase the risk of future mental illnesses. “We still don’t know who the most resilient individuals are in the face of these risks”underline the scientists. By continuing to study this group of adolescents, they hope to identify the factors most predictive of the diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychiatric disorders, which could allow for early interventions.
