New insight into brain’s attempts at psychosis recovery

This image conveys the idea that when some brain regions have a structural deficit (areas in red) leading to functional difficulties, other regions (in yellow) can show structural changes to compensate for the deficits. Such a process may explain the findings in this study. A new study from Western's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and collaborators from West China Hospital in Chengdu, is challenging long-held notions about brain deterioration in patients with psychotic disorders, and may help improve treatment protocols. Psychotic disorders such as psychosis are often characterized as progressively worsening, with the brain deteriorating as the condition recurs through time. The study, led by Dr. Lena Palaniyappan, psychiatry professor and scientist at Robarts Research Institute, showed brain tissue actually increases in certain areas in patients with psychosis - even before they receive treatment. This could indicate that the brain's attempts to rebuild itself may start even before a patient receives medical , Palaniyappan said. Studying this phenomenon further may help researchers improve treatment protocols and eventually have impacts on how we view and treat other youth-onset mental disorders.