By James Gamble via SWNS
Bullied teenagers are more at risk of suffering from early psychotic episodes, a worrying new study has shown.
Researchers in Japan found adolescents who had experienced bullying have lower levels of a key neurotransmitter in a part of the brain involved in regulating emotions.
They found bullying to be associated with higher levels of psychotic experiences in early adolescence that can even come close to disorders such as schizophrenia.
However, the findings, published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, suggest the emotion-regulating neurotransmitter glutamate could be targeted in pharmaceutical interventions aimed at reducing the risks of psychotic disorders in bullied teens.
Psychosis is a mental state characterized by loss of contact with reality, incoherent speech and behavior, and typically hallucinations and delusions seen in psychiatric disorders.
Recent studies investigating the links between neurological and psychiatric features of certain disorders have found that individuals who experience their first episode of psychosis or have treatable schizophrenia have lower-than-normal levels of glutamate – a neurotransmitter in the brain’s anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) region.
The ACC is known to play a crucial role in regulating emotions, decision-making and cognitive control and glutamate is the most abundant neurotransmitter in the brain, involved in functions such as learning, memory and mood regulation.
Alterations to glutamate levels have been implicated in various psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
Therefore, researchers suggest that measuring glutamate levels in the ACC could provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of the nervous system underlying these disorders and could be used to inform treatments for them.
Until now, changes in glutamate levels in the ACC in individuals at high risk of psychosis, and the relationship between this and the effects of bullying in adolescents, has remained unclear.
In this latest study, researchers at the University of Tokyo used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) – a radiological imaging tool – to measure glutamate levels in the ACC regions of Japanese teenagers.
They then again measured glutamate levels at a later point, allowing them to assess any changes in the levels over time and compare them with bullying experiences and whether those being bullied intended to seek help.
Bullying was tracked in the study via questionnaires completed by the teens.
The research team used these to assess experiences of bullying victimization and assessed whether events involved physical or verbal aggression and capturing their overall impact on mental health.
Their findings showed that bullying was associated with higher levels of subclinical psychotic experiences in early adolescence.
These experiences came close to psychosis but did not meet the full criteria for a clinical diagnosis of a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia.
Symptoms of these experiences can include hallucinations, paranoia or radical alterations in thinking or behavior and can have a significant impact on well-being and functioning, even in the absence of a psychotic disorder diagnosis.
Dr. Naohiro Okada, lead author of the study and project associate professor at the University of Tokyo’s International Research Center for Neurointelligence, explained that the study was important for identifying those at an increased risk of developing a disorder.
“Studying these subclinical psychotic experiences is important for us to understand the early stages of psychotic disorders and for identifying individuals who may be at increased risk for developing a clinical psychotic illness later on,” Dr. Okada said.
The researchers also crucially found that higher levels of these subclinical psychotic experiences were associated with lower levels of glutamate in early adolescence.
On potential preventions that should be made available to teens, Dr. Okada added: “First and foremost, anti-bullying programs in schools that focus on promoting positive social interactions and reducing aggressive behaviors are essential for their own sake and to reduce the risk of psychosis and its subclinical precursors.
“These programs can help create a safe and supportive environment for all students, reducing the likelihood of bullying and its negative consequences.”
Another possible intervention technique is to provide support and mental health resources for adolescents who have experienced bullying such as counseling and peer support groups that can help them cope with the negative effects of bullying and develop resilience.
While Dr. Okada’s group has identified a potential target for pharmacological interventions, he added that non-pharmacological interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy or mindfulness-based interventions may also serve to target this neurotransmitter imbalance.
