On Altered Patterns of Brain Activation in At-Risk Adolescents and Young Adults

An editorial comments on a study by Yaakub et al. in which they report on a functional MRI (fMRI) study of patterns of brain activity in 60 adolescents and young adults at risk for psychosis and 38 healthy comparison subjects, using a working memory task that included separate maintenance and manipulation conditions. Kern et al concur with the position suggested by others that clinicians focus on treating the broad syndrome of early mental distress, including nonspecific psychotic experiences, anxiety, depression, and fluctuations in mood that frequently occur in individuals during the period of risk for illness onset, rather than treating a high-risk syndrome.