The neurobiology of auditory and visual perceptual abnormalities in a clinical high-risk for psychosis cohort: A pilot morphometric magnetic resonance imaging study

Abstract

Our goal was to examine the neurobiology of auditory and visual perceptual abnormalities in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR) using morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We enrolled 72 CHR subjects as delineated by the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS). Greater severity of visual perceptual abnormalities was associated with larger volumes in all regions tested (amygdala, hippocampus, and occipital cortex), while no relationships were observed between auditory perceptual abnormalities and brain volumes. These data support findings that while perceptual abnormalities may share a central set of neurobiological mechanisms, each type may also have distinct pathogeneses.

Keywords: Clinical high-risk for psychosis; Magnetic resonance imaging; Visual hallucinations.