Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology

Mental Health

The presence of psychiatric and psychological disorders is observed in approximately 15% of children and adolescents. Studying the disorders’ characteristics at these ages is important to establish an early diagnosis and intervention in order to improve their prognosis. This programme investigates the genetic bases and clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging characteristics of the most prevalent psychiatric and psychological diseases in children and adolescents: disorders related to eating, depression, anxiety, emotional upsets, attention deficit and hyperactivity, autistic disorders and psychotic disorders, among others.

Principal Investigators

Josefina Castro-Fornieles

Full Professor

Technologies & Methods

  • Neuroimaging
  • Genetics

Research Team

Susana Andres

Medical Assistant Professor

Inmaculada Baeza

Medical Assistant Professor

Rosa Calvo

Medical Assistant Professor

Maria Luisa Lazaro

Medical Assistant Professor

Astrid Morer

MedicalAssistantProfessor

Ana Blazquez

Postdoctoral Researcher

Itziar Flamarique

Postdoctoral Researcher

Sara Lera

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ana Encarnacion Ortiz

Postdoctoral Researcher

Ana Perez

Postdoctoral Researcher

Maria Teresa Plana

Postdoctoral Researcher

Soledad Romero

Postdoctoral Researcher

Mireia Rosa

Postdoctoral Researcher

Pilar Santamarina

Postdoctoral Researcher

Elena De la Serna

Postdoctoral Researcher

Gisela Sugranyes

Postdoctoral Researcher

Patricia Camprodon

Postdoctoral Researcher

Blanca Garcia

Early Stage Researcher

Daniel Ilzarbe

Postdoctoral Researcher

Olga Puig Navarro

Medical Assistant Professor

Selected publications

Baeza, I., de la Serna, E., Mezquida, G., Cuesta, M. J., Vieta, E., Amoretti, S., Lobo, A., González-Pinto, A., Díaz-Caneja, C. M., Corripio, I., Valli, I., Puig, O., Mané, A., Bioque, M., Ayora, M., Bernardo, M., Castro-Fornieles, J., García-Rizo, C., González-Díaz, J., … Balanzá-Martínez, V. (2024). Prodromal symptoms and the duration of untreated psychosis in first episode of psychosis patients: what differences are there between early vs. adult onset and between schizophrenia vs. bipolar disorder? European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(3), 799–810. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02196-7

Butjosa, A., Usall, J., Vila-Badia, R., Mezquida, G., Cuesta, M. J., Rodríguez-Toscano, E., Amoretti, S., Lobo, A., González-Pinto, A., Espliego, A., Corripio, I., Vieta, E., Baeza, I., Bergé, D., Bernardo, M., Bioque, M., García-Rizo, C., Mayoral, M., Merchan, J., … Selva-Vera, G. (2023). Impact of traumatic life events on clinical variables of individuals with first-episode psychosis and healthy controls. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 69(1), 134–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/00207640211070398

Camprodon-Boadas, P., De la Serna, E., Plana, M. T., Flamarique, I., Lázaro, L., Borràs, R., Baeza, I., Tasa-Vinyals, E., Sugranyes, G., Ortiz, A. E., & Castro-Fornieles, J. (2023). Delusional beliefs in adolescents with anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or first-episode psychosis: A comparative study. Psychiatry Research, 328, 115490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115490

Camprodon-Boadas, P., Rosa-Justicia, M., Sugranyes, G., Moreno, D., Baeza, I., Ilzarbe, D., Martínez Díaz-Caneja, C., Ayora, M., Merchan, J., Martín, N., Borras, R., García-Rizo, C., Torrent, C., Castro-Fornieles, J., & de la Serna, E. (2023). Cognitive reserve and its correlates in child and adolescent offspring of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(8), 1463–1473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-022-01957-0

Fortea, A., van Eijndhoven, P., Calvet-Mirabent, A., Ilzarbe, D., Batalla, A., de la Serna, E., Puig, O., Castro-Fornieles, J., Dolz, M., Tor, J., Parrilla, S., Via, E., Stephan-Otto, C., Baeza, I., & Sugranyes, G. (2024). Age-related change in cortical thickness in adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis: a longitudinal study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(6), 1837–1846. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-023-02278-6

Fortea, A., van Eijndhoven, P., Ilzarbe, D., Batalla, A., Calvet-Mirabent, A., de la Serna, E., Puig, O., Castro-Fornieles, J., Dolz, M., Tor, J., Parrilla, S., Via, E., Stephan-Otto, C., Baeza, I., & Sugranyes, G. (2023). Longitudinal Changes in Cortical Surface Area Associated With Transition to Psychosis in Adolescents at Clinical High Risk for the Disease. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 62(5), 593–600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.01.001

Masias Bruns, M., Ramirez-Mahaluf, J. P., Valli, I., Ortuño, M., Ilzarbe, D., de la Serna, E., Navarro, O. P., Crossley, N. A., González Ballester, M. Á., Baeza, I., Piella, G., Castro-Fornieles, J., & Sugranyes, G. (2024). Altered Temporal Dynamics of Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Adolescent-Onset First-Episode Psychosis. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 50(2), 418–426. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbad107

Segura, A. G., de la Serna, E., Sugranyes, G., Baeza, I., Valli, I., Díaz-Caneja, C., Martín, N., Moreno, D. M., Gassó, P., Rodriguez, N., Mas, S., & Castro-Fornieles, J. (2023). Epigenetic age deacceleration in youth at familial risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Translational Psychiatry, 13(1), 155. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-023-02463-w

Segura, A. G., Mané, A., Prohens, L., Rodriguez, N., Mezquida, G., Cuesta, M. J., Vieta, E., Amoretti, S., Lobo, A., González-Pinto, A., Diaz-Caneja, C. M., Bejarano, A. R., Jimenez, E., Baeza, I., Legido, T., Saiz-Ruiz, J., Bernardo, M., & Mas, S. (2023). Exploration of cannabis use and polygenic risk scores on the psychotic symptom progression of a FEP cohort. Psychiatry Research, 325, 115249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115249

Zwicker, A., Fullerton, J. M., Mullins, N., Rice, F., Hafeman, D. M., van Haren, N. E. M., Setiaman, N., Merranko, J. A., Goldstein, B. I., Ferrera, A. G., Stapp, E. K., de la Serna, E., Moreno, D., Sugranyes, G., Herrero, S. M., Roberts, G., Toma, C., Schofield, P. R., Edenberg, H. J., … Uher, R. (2023). Polygenic Scores and Onset of Major Mood or Psychotic Disorders Among Offspring of Affected Parents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 180(4), 285–293. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220476