Cortical brain changes from early to mid-adolescence in offspring at familial high risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

Males at familial high risk for schizophrenia (FHR-SZ) show reduced brain and cortical volumes versus population-based controls and FHR-BP males at both 11–12 and 15–16 years.

• Why it matters: Prior Danish High Risk and Resilience findings at ages 11–12 needed to be tested for whether they change over time or remain stable through mid-adolescence.
• What they did: MRI from VIA Study offspring (n=288 at 11–12; n=249 at 15–16) was processed longitudinally with FreeSurfer, and linear mixed-effects models tested group-by-age interactions plus sex-specific group effects.
• The result: No group-by-age interactions emerged, but FHR-SZ male volume reductions persisted at both time points and were attenuated after adjusting for ICV, which was lower in FHR-SZ males; males with psychotic experiences also showed volumetric reductions after controlling for risk status.

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