Untreated Initial Psychosis: Relation to Cognitive Deficits and Brain Morphology in First-Episode Schizophrenia

Abstract

The absence of strong correlations suggests that untreated initial psychosis has no direct toxic neural effects. These results suggest that large-scale initiatives designed to prevent neural injury through early intervention in the prepsychotic or early psychosis phase may be based on incorrect assumptions that neurotoxicity or cognitive deterioration may be avoided. Nevertheless, early treatment is justified because it reduces suffering.