The Talmud (Ta’anit 23a) contains a fable (here paraphrased) about a sage who observes a man planting carob trees, which are presumed to bear fruit only after decades. Asked whether he imagined living long enough to enjoy the fruit of these trees, the man responded, “I found fruit-bearing carob trees throughout my life; as my forefathers planted those for me, so I too plant these for my children.”

The study by Mollon et al¹ in this issue of JAMA Psychiatry contains important discoveries that reap the benefits of a unique longitudinal investigation planted decades ago. Longitudinal studies are indispensable for unraveling the course of neurodevelopmental disorders such as psychosis. Yet they are lamentably sparse. Any limitations of the study should be overshadowed by appreciation of the foresight of the team that conceived and implemented it over 20 years ago.

塔木德（Ta'anit 23a）载有关于一位圣人的寓言（在这里改写），该圣人观察到一个人种植角豆树，据推测这些角豆树只有在几十年后才能结出果实。当被问及他是否幻想过足够长的时间来享受这些树木的果实时，男人回答说：“我一生中发现了带有果实的角豆树；因为我的祖先为我种下了这些，所以我也为我的孩子种下了这些。”

Mollon等[ ^1]在本期《JAMA精神病学》中的研究包含重要发现，这些发现获得了数十年前进行的独特纵向研究的好处。纵向研究对于弄清诸如精神病等神经发育障碍的病程是必不可少的。然而，他们可悲的是稀疏。该研究的任何局限性都应被20年前构思和实施该研究小组的远见卓识所掩盖。