This is a FIRST award proposal. The proposed project examines 6-13 year-old children of schizophrenic parents using smooth pursuit eye movements (SPEM). Two critical missing pieces of data in research on the development of schizophrenia are: (a) Whether or not persons who are at increased genetic risk to later develop schizophrenia have abnormal SPEM in childhood, and (b) is abnormal SPEM in childhood associated with the presentation of symptom, behavioral, or poor peer problems. By studying children who are at increased risk to later develop schizophrenia, but who have not yet developed the clinical disorder, it is possible to assess whether SPEM abnormalities occur only in adulthood directly tired to presentation of clinical schizophrenia or whether SPEM abnormalities are predetermined, presenting years prior to onset of the full clinical syndrome (aim # 2 of this proposal). Previous efforts to explore this question have been hampered by a failure to understand SPEM within the confines of normal development. Understanding the normal developmental course of SPEM performance (aim #1 of this proposal) is critical to assessing t- risk/normal differences. It is important to address whether clinical difficulties presented by the at-risk group are associated with the SPEM abnormalities. Specifically, within the at-risk group, are those children who exhibit SPEM abnormalities more likely to show symptom, behavioral, or peer adjustment abnormalities than those at- risk children who have normal SPEM (aim #3 of this proposal). The relationship between SPEM and clinical presentation may be stable across the schoolage years, may change as a result of development, or may vary secondary to environmental or other effects. SPEM testing, behavioral and symptom evaluations, and peer adjustment assessments will be repeated 2 years after entry into the study. This will help differentiate these possibilities (aim #4 of this proposal).
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| Ross, Anne Spencer; Hunter, Sharon Kay; Groth, Mark A et al. (2013) P50 sensory gating in infants. J Vis Exp :50065 |
| Sparks, Tierney A; Hunter, Sharon K; Backman, Toni L et al. (2012) Maternal parenting stress and mothers' reports of their infants' mastery motivation. Infant Behav Dev 35:167-73 |
| Hunter, Sharon K; Kisley, Michael A; McCarthy, Lizbeth et al. (2011) Diminished cerebral inhibition in neonates associated with risk factors for schizophrenia: parental psychosis, maternal depression, and nicotine use. Schizophr Bull 37:1200-8 |
| Hutchison, Amanda K; Beresford, Carol; Robinson, Joann et al. (2010) Assessing disordered thoughts in preschoolers with dysregulated mood. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 41:479-89 |
| Ross, Randal G; Stevens, Karen E; Proctor, William R et al. (2010) Research review: Cholinergic mechanisms, early brain development, and risk for schizophrenia. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 51:535-49 |
| Heim, C; Young, L J; Newport, D J et al. (2009) Lower CSF oxytocin concentrations in women with a history of childhood abuse. Mol Psychiatry 14:954-8 |
