Declining hippocampal connectivity may predict worsening symptoms in young people at risk for psychosis

AI Summary

Researchers identified hippocampal connectivity as a potential biomarker for early psychosis risk and a possible predictor of worsening negative symptoms. The finding may help address the lack of objective tools for assessing and forecasting psychiatric conditions.

One of the central problems in psychiatry is the lack of objective biomarkers: While other areas of medicine have reliable methods for diagnosis and treatment, like X-rays or blood tests, psychiatrists and researchers rely on the patient's self-reported symptoms. In a new study, researchers identified connectivity within the hippocampus as a novel biomarker candidate for the early risk stages of psychotic disorders—and a potential predictor for difficult-to-treat negative symptoms.