Researchers collaborated to understand the link between brain development and mental health disorders. By analyzing brain scans from a large number of individuals, including those with psychiatric disorders and typically developing individuals, researchers identified a common pattern of cortical thickness across different brain regions using principal component analysis (PCA). This pattern resembled the widespread thinning of the cortex observed in psychiatric disorders and was also associated with normal brain maturation and aging. Gene expression analysis revealed a set of genes closely related to this pattern, particularly during late childhood when significant brain maturation occurs, and psychiatric disorders often emerge in adolescence. The study suggests that disrupted brain development may play a role in the development of psychiatric diseases during adolescence.
Cao Z, Cupertino RB, Ottino-Gonzalez J, Murphy A, Pancholi D, Juliano A, Chaarani B, Albaugh M, Yuan D, Schwab N, Stafford J, Goudriaan AE, Hutchison K, Li CR, Luijten M, Groefsema M, Momenan R, Schmaal L, Sinha R, van Holst RJ, Veltman DJ, Wiers RW, Porjesz B, Lett T, Banaschewski T, Bokde ALW, Desrivieres S, Flor H, Grigis A, Gowland P, Heinz A, Bruhl R, Martinot JL, Martinot MP, Artiges E, Nees F, Orfanos DP, Paus T, Poustka L, Hohmann S, Millenet S, Frohner JH, Robinson L, Smolka MN, Walter H, Winterer J, Schumann G, Whelan R, Bhatt RR, Zhu A, Conrod P, Jahanshad N, Thompson PM, Mackey S, Garavan H, IMAGEN Consortium, ENIGMA Addiction Working Group (2023) Cortical profiles of numerous psychiatric disorders and normal development share a common pattern. Molecular Psychiatry, 28(2), 698-709. PMID: 36380235; DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01855-6.
