Certain factors, such as trouble understanding what others mean especially with ambiguous wording, are important hallmarks of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. It has been found in the past that children who later developed schizophrenia had poor language ability in childhood. Therefore the purpose of this project is to examine adolescents (ages 11-12) who report psychotic symptoms, but are not at the threshold for a psychotic disorder. By analyzing the data from these adolescents we can better understand the link between early symptoms and later development of psychotic disorders. The data collected includes data on receptive and expressive language. Receptive language is how we understand the ideas that other people convey with words and expressive language is being able to express your own ideas with words. People with psychotic disorders have differences in receptive language, but not expressive. This difference is important, as it’s also been shown that children who later develop psychosis have subtle differences in receptive language. The overall goal is to analyze this data in order to achieve insights into the earliest affected areas of the brain. Further, the findings will help us understand the development of psychotic disorders. By understanding how the brain might be different early in life we can be better informed to research and perform preventive treatment in the future. Better understanding of early stages of psychosis is critical as early intervention is important for disease progression and patient outcomes.
