(STUDY FINDS) – Artificial intelligence may soon be able to predict if someone is going to suffer from psychosis before it ever happens. Researchers have developed a machine learning classifier that uses MRI scans to distinguish between healthy individuals and those at high risk for psychotic episodes.
This tool was created using scans from over 2,000 people across 21 international locations, with approximately half of these participants previously identified as clinically “high risk” for developing psychosis. The classifier has an 85-percent accuracy rate in distinguishing individuals not at risk from those who later experienced overt psychotic symptoms. When applied to new data, its accuracy stood at 73 percent.
This advancement could be instrumental in clinical settings, where early intervention in psychosis, typically marked by delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized thinking, is associated with better recovery outcomes. Psychosis can stem from various triggers, including illness, trauma, substance use, or genetic predisposition, but it remains treatable with most individuals recovering fully.
