Participants
Psychosis, head injury, psychotic disorder, schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, psychosis, Axis I disorders, schizoaffective disorder, depression, substance-induced psychotic disorder, delusional disorder
DISORDER, NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER, DUP
FEP patients were aged 15–25 years and presented for treatment at the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre, a specialist public early psychosis programme in Melbourne’s northern-western suburbs, Australia. Participants met criteria for a DSM-IV psychotic disorder, including schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, depression with psychosis, substance-induced psychotic disorder, or psychosis NOS, confirmed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV) for Axis I disorders. Inclusion criteria were: ability to provide informed consent; English language comprehension; DUP < 6 months; low past exposure to antipsychotic medication (<7 days or lifetime maximum 1750mg chlorpromazine equivalent); no previous lithium/anticonvulsant treatment; and to minimise risk: living in stable accommodation; low risk to self/others [Sex- and age-matched healthy controls were recruited via flyers, word-of-mouth, and social media advertisements. Inclusion criteria for healthy controls were aged 15–25 years and English language comprehension. Exclusion criteria included: history of psychotic disorder or any current mental disorder (screened using the SCID-IV Research Non-Patient Edition); head injury or neurological disorder; and studied psychology at university (to mitigate cognitive test exposure). All participants gave written informed consent, including parent/guardian consent for participants <18 years. All participants were reimbursed $50AUD per assessment.