Association between childhood trauma and inhibitory control in South Africans with early psychosis
Poster A78, Monday, October%208, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
Mallory Klaunig1, Stefan du Plessis2, Sanya Kilian2, David C. Cicero1, Chanelle Buckle2, Soraya Seedat2, Robin Emsley2; 1University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Department of Psychology, 2Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Childhood trauma (CHT) is consistently linked to increased risk for schizophrenia, but the mechanisms by which this risk is conferred are unclear. Recent research indicates there may be multiple developmental pathways linking CHT to schizophrenia, including affective and cognitive routes. The current study seeks to clarify the potential role of response inhibition in the cognitive pathway between childhood trauma and the development of schizophrenia. Participants included forty South African individuals with first-episode psychotic disorders and forty age- and gender-matched non-psychiatric controls. These participants completed the Stop-Signal Anticipation Task (SSAT) as a measure of behavioral and brain imaging indices of response inhibition. CHT was measured with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and schizophrenia symptoms were measured using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). This study has two aims. First, we aim to replicate previous findings of increased CHT and impaired behavioral and neuroimaging indices of response inhibition in people with schizophrenia. Second, we aim to test behavioral and neuroimaging measures of response inhibition as mediators between CHT severity and symptoms of schizophrenia.
Topic Area: First Episode Psychosis