Risperidone in First Episode Schizophrenia - Baseline, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre

This aim of this project was to use H2O15 PET technique to compare cerebral activation in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and normal control subjects during cognitive activation using the Stroop task. Patients were assessed while drug-naïve and then re-examined when stabilised on risperidone or haloperidol.
Twenty drug naïve patients with recent onset schizophrenia or schizophreniform psychosis (from EPPIC, Orygen Youth Health), and ten normal healthy subjects (matched to the patients group) were recruited. Participants completed baseline and 8-12 week follow-up scans (PET and MRI). After baseline scans, patients will be randomised to treatment with either risperidone or haloperidol.

This project refers to the baseline scans.

Time period: 1997-1999