Distance- and Hierarchy-Dependent Functional Dysconnectivity in Schizophrenia and Its Association with Cortical...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Schizophrenia is linked to widespread functional dysconnectivity.
• The spatial scale and structural basis of these alterations, especially short-range connectivity, are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate distance-dependent functional connectivity strength (FCS) in schizophrenia.
• To explore the relationship between functional connectivity and intracortical microstructure.

Main Methods:

• Applied vertex-wise, distance-dependent analysis of FCS to resting-state fMRI data.
• Partitioned FCS by geodesic distance and analyzed by cortical hierarchy.
• Assessed T1w/T2w ratio and individualized data-driven functional connectivity density (idFCD) as microstructural proxies.

Main Results:

• Schizophrenia patients showed reduced short-range FCS in the dorsal primary somatosensory cortex, co-localizing with microstructural abnormalities.
• Increased long-range FCS was observed in transmodal regions (e.g., precuneus) without microstructural differences.
• Hierarchical analysis revealed structure-function disruption in primary networks and increased relative FCS in transmodal regions.

Conclusions:

• Schizophrenia exhibits two distinct connectivity patterns: short-range reductions in primary sensory areas with microstructural correlates, and long-range increases in transmodal regions lacking local structural association.
• Highlights the role of short-range connectivity disruptions in primary areas and offers a new framework for analyzing brain connectivity in schizophrenia.