Negative Symptoms and Functional Outcomes in First-Episode Psychosis
Summary
Negative symptoms in first-episode psychosis encompass diminished emotional expression, avolition, alogia, anhedonia and social withdrawal. These deficits often emerge early in the illness trajectory and persist despite antipsychotic treatment, exerting a profound impact on daily functioning. Individuals with pronounced negative symptoms experience poorer social integration, reduced occupational attainment and lower quality of life. Functional outcomes depend not only on symptom severity but also on cognitive capacity, environmental support and access to rehabilitative services. Research has increasingly focused on identifying neurobiological markers, developmental trajectories and personalised interventions to mitigate these long-term impairments and promote recovery.
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Negative Symptoms and Functional Outcomes in First-Episode Psychosis publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in negative symptoms and functional outcomes in first-episode psychosis across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Negative symptoms: Core deficits such as reduced motivation, speech and social engagement in psychotic disorders.
Functional outcomes: Real-world performance in social, occupational and daily living domains.
First-episode psychosis (FEP): Initial presentation of psychotic symptoms, often in late adolescence or early adulthood.
Cortical thickness: Measure of the thickness of the cerebral cortex, indicative of brain maturation or pathology.
Normative modelling: Statistical framework that compares individual neurobiological measures to a reference population.
Latent growth mixture modelling (LGMM): Technique to identify subgroups following distinct developmental trajectories over time.
References
- Extreme deviations from the normative model reveal cortical heterogeneity and associations with negative symptom severity in first-episode psychosis from the OPTiMiSE and GAP studies. Translational Psychiatry (2023).
- Longitudinal trajectories in negative symptoms and changes in brain cortical thickness: 10-year follow-up study. The British Journal of Psychiatry (2023).
- Trajectories of positive, negative and general psychopathology symptoms in first episode psychosis and their relationship with functioning over a 2-year follow-up period. PLOS ONE (2017).
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