Spatio-temporal information transition abnormalities across brain functional networks in early-onset schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by widespread functional dysconnectivities across the brain. While disturbed temporal dynamics have been reported in schizophrenia, the information flow involving both temporal and spatial dynamics remains unclear. To capture spatio-temporal transition of brain information and to investigate these processes from a neurodevelopmental perspective, we collected resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data from 86 early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) patients (onset before age 18) and 91 demographically matched typically developing (TD) controls. We employed a non-homogeneous Markov model (NHMM) on dynamic functional connectivities derived from fMRI data. By means of transition probabilities, we modeled the switching of information flow in brain functional networks over time. Stationary probability vectors were used to describe the information convergence distribution of each network, while optimal reachable steps were used to characterize inter-network transmission efficiency. Compared to controls, EOS patients showed significantly increased stationary transition probabilities in the ventral attention network (VAN) and the dorsal attention network (DAN) but decreased probabilities in the default mode network (DMN). In terms of the dynamic interaction characteristics between networks, patients showed increased optimal reachable steps relative to controls, particularly in the VAN-DMN pathway. By integrating NHMM with neuroimaging data, this study revealed VAN- and DMN-involved information transition abnormalities in the early stage of schizophrenia spatio-temporal dynamics, offering novel insights into the developmental pathophysiology of the disorder. Our approach thus provides a novel analytical framework for quantifying spatio-temporal brain dynamics in neurodevelopmental disorders.