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Functional network comparative area and topography analysis (FUNCATA) in non-affective psychosis: a replication
Daniel Mamah1, ShingShiun Chen2, Michael P Harms2
1Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. mamahd@wustl.edu.
Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)
|February 17, 2026
Summary
Individuals with psychosis show altered brain network organization, with larger dorsal attention (DAN) and default mode (DMN) networks, and smaller sensorimotor (SBN) networks. These brain changes may help identify psychosis early.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Schizophrenia (SZ) is characterized by widespread brain dysconnectivity.
- Conventional analysis methods often overlook individual differences in brain organization.
- Understanding functional brain alterations in early psychosis is crucial for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate functional brain alterations in early psychosis using individualized network assessments.
- To examine differences in network size and topography between individuals with non-affective psychosis (NAP) and healthy controls (HC).
- To explore the relationship between network alterations, clinical symptoms, and treatment variables.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data from the Human Connectome Project - Early Psychosis study.
- Delineation of ten large-scale functional networks using template-matching.
- Group comparisons of network size (ANOVA) and topography (chi-square, Topographic Abnormality Index).
Main Results:
- Participants with NAP exhibited significantly larger dorsal attention (DAN) and default mode (DMN) networks, and a smaller sensorimotor-body (SBN) network compared to HC.
- NAP participants showed greater topographic abnormalities in DAN, DMN, and cingulo-opercular (CON) networks.
- Network alterations were associated with clinical symptoms (mania, negative symptoms) and cognitive performance (working memory).
Conclusions:
- Individualized assessment reveals significant alterations in functional brain networks in early psychosis.
- Enlarged DAN in early psychosis is consistent with findings in established schizophrenia, suggesting stability across illness stages.
- Altered DAN and DMN organization may serve as early biomarkers for psychosis detection and intervention.
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