The Effect of Cannabis Use and Childhood Trauma on Event Related Potentials and Cognition in a Large Transdiagnostic Sample of Psychosis
Peter Levin (2,12), David Parker (11), Efim Oykhman (1,2), Walid Yassin (1,2,5), Victor Zeng (2), Paulo Lizano (1,2), Sarah Keedy (6), Paulo Lizano, Rebekah Trotti, Elena Ivleva (7), Scott Hill (8),Jennifer McDowell (9), Elliot Gershon (6), Godfrey Pearlson (9), John A. Sweeney (10), Brett A. Clementz (11), Carol A. Tamminga (7), Matcheri S. Keshavan (1,2,3), Elisabetta C. del Re (1,2,3,4)
1 Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA,
2 Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA,
3 Mass Mental Health Center, Boston, MA,
4 VA Boston HealthCare System
5 McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 6 University of Chicago
7 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
8 Rosalind Franklin University
9 Yale University
10 University of Cincinnati
11 University of Georgia
12. Harvard College
Background: We explored relationships between cannabis use (CA), psychosis, cognitive factors, and auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in individuals affected by psychosis to determine ERPs link to timing and presence of psychotic symptoms.
Methods: Participants were 863, part of the BSNIP-2 recruitment and included 313 HC, and 550 probands affected by psychosis. Participants underwent an auditory oddball task and EEG recording. We investigated P50, N100, P200, and P300 ERPs. Data analysis included extensive demographic comparisons among controls and probands focused around CA.
Results: The P300A and N100 ERPs were shown to be significant mediators of the relationship between Childhood Trauma and Age of Onset of Psychotic Symptoms with lower ERP scores indicating earlier onset. This finding paired with a canonical correlation showing a link between ERP scores and hippocampus volume further highlights the validity of ERPs as an early indicator of psychosis. Further, worsneed cognitive abilities also appear as a significant negative mediator of the relationship between Childhood Trauma and Age of Onset of Psychotic Symptoms
Conclusions: By establishing that the hippocampus is affected by childhood trauma and cannabis alongside establishing that ERP scores are not only affected by childhood trauma and cannabis but also have direct relationships with volume of hippocampal structures. We argue that these ERPs can be an innovative method to early diagnosis of psychosis. Further, because the hippocampus has been seen to be affected before onset of psychotic symptoms (Brunner et al., 2022) the ERPs link to the hippocampus is key to their success in predicting psychosis earlier, as shown in our model. Overall, these underutilized, cheap, and easy to administer ERPs could be an effective way to identify psychosis earlier leading to more positive patient outcomes.