Psychotic symptoms are relatively common in children and adolescents attending mental health services. On most occasions, their presence is not associated with a primary psychotic disorder, and their clinical significance remains understudied. No studies to date have evaluated the prevalence and clinical correlates of psychotic symptoms in children requiring inpatient mental health treatment. All children aged 6 to 12 years admitted to an inpatient children’s unit over a 9-year period were included in this naturalistic study. Diagnosis at discharge, length of admission, functional impairment, and medication use were recorded. Children with psychotic symptoms without a childhood-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorder (COSS) were compared with children with COSS and children without psychotic symptoms using Chi-square and linear regressions. A total of 211 children were admitted during this period with 62.4% experiencing psychotic symptoms. The most common diagnosis in the sample was autism spectrum disorder (53.1%). Psychotic symptoms were not more prevalent in any diagnosis except for COSS (100%) and intellectual disability (81.8%). Psychotic symptoms were associated with longer admissions and antipsychotic medication use. The mean length of admission of children with psychotic symptoms without COSS seems to lie in between that of children without psychotic symptoms and that of children with COSS. We concluded that psychotic symptoms in children admitted to the hospital may be a marker of severity. Screening for such symptoms may have implications for treatment and could potentially contribute to identifying more effective targeted interventions and reducing overall morbidity.

Antipsychotic medications are used in a wide range of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions in children and adolescents. Their efficacy and tolerability with long-term use have not been clearly established. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the long-term use of antipsychotics in children and adolescents. All relevant double-blind randomized control trials (RCTs), on any antipsychotic used for 12 weeks or longer in any mental health/neurodevelopmental condition in this age group, were included. We evaluated several efficacy and tolerability measures. Meta-analysis was performed for adverse events. Seven RCTs were identified (n = 939, age = 5-17 years), four on aripiprazole and three on risperidone. All studies reported symptomatic/functional improvements or more time before discontinuation with antipsychotics compared to placebo. Weight gain was identified as a significant side effect with antipsychotics. Serum prolactin was reduced with aripiprazole and increased with risperidone, and abdominal pain/discomfort, respiratory tract infections, were more common with Aripiprazole compared to placebo. Musculoskeletal pain may be more common with aripiprazole compared to placebo. Use of antipsychotics for 12 weeks or longer may be associated with symptomatic/functional improvements, but may be associated with additional side effects compared to short-term treatment. Further research in this population is needed.

The hollow-mask illusion is an optical illusion where a concave face is perceived as convex. It has been demonstrated that individuals with schizophrenia and anxiety are less susceptible to the illusion than controls. Previous research has shown that the P300 and P600 event-related potentials (ERPs) are affected in individuals with schizophrenia. Here, we examined whether individual differences in neuroticism and anxiety scores, traits that have been suggested to be risk factors for schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, affect ERPs of healthy participants while they view concave faces. Our results confirm that the participants were susceptible to the illusion, misperceiving concave faces as convex. We additionally demonstrate significant interactions of the concave condition with state anxiety in central and parietal electrodes for P300 and parietal areas for P600, but not with neuroticism and trait anxiety. The state anxiety interactions were driven by low-state anxiety participants showing lower amplitudes for concave faces compared to convex. The P300 and P600 amplitudes were smaller when a concave face activated a convex face memory representation, since the stimulus did not match the active representation. The opposite pattern was evident in high-state anxiety participants in regard to state anxiety interaction and the hollow-mask illusion, demonstrating larger P300 and P600 amplitudes to concave faces suggesting impaired late information processing in this group. This could be explained by impaired allocation of attentional resources in high-state anxiety leading to hyperarousal to concave faces that are unexpected mismatches to standard memory representations, as opposed to expected convex faces.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a magnetic resonance imaging technique that is increasingly being used for the non-invasive evaluation of brain white matter abnormalities. In this review, we discuss the basic principles of DTI, its roots and the contribution of European centres in its development, and we review the findings from DTI studies in schizophrenia. We searched EMBASE, PubMed, PsychInfo, and Medline from February 1998 to December 2006 using as keywords ‘schizophrenia’, ‘diffusion’, ‘tensor’, and ‘DTI’. Forty studies fulfilling the inclusion criteria of this review were included and systematically reviewed. White matter abnormalities in many diverse brain regions were identified in schizophrenia. Although the findings are not completely consistent, frontal and temporal white matter seems to be more commonly affected. Limitations and future directions of this method are discussed.

Evidence-based practice (EBP), which is commonly implemented in high-income countries (HICs), integrates the best research evidence, clinical expertise and patient preferences in the planning and provision of healthcare for both physical and mental health conditions. Although the same principles of EBP apply in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), research into and implementation of such interventions in these countries remains significantly behind compared with HICs. This article presents a brief overview of the global mental health agenda and initiatives aiming to address this pressing gap through the promotion of research and scaling up services, identification of barriers to developing and implementing EBP in LMICs, and possible solutions to overcome them.

Autism and schizophrenia were placed in different diagnostic categories in DSM-III, having previously been considered as related diagnostic entities. New evidence suggests that these disorders show clinical and cognitive deficit overlaps and shared neurobiological characteristics. Furthermore, children presenting with both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychotic experiences may represent a subgroup of ASD more closely linked to psychosis. The study of ASD and childhood schizophrenia, and their clinical boundaries and overlapping pathophysiological characteristics, may clarify their relationship and lead to more effective interventions. This article discusses the relationship through a critical review of current and historical dilemmas surrounding the phenomenology and pathophysiology of these disorders. It provides a framework for working with children and young people with mixed clinical presentations, illustrated by three brief fictional case vignettes.