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Altered functional hierarchical and sequential organization in individuals with schizophrenia during auditory
Yeongseon Choi1, Paola Fuentes-Claramonte2, Peter McKenna2
1Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, 50, UNIST-gil, Eonyang-eup, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea.
Neuroimage
|July 1, 2026
Summary
Schizophrenia (SZ) disrupts brain network organization during auditory tasks. Findings reveal abnormal hierarchical organization and infra-slow propagation in SZ patients compared to healthy controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Brain Imaging
Background:
- Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe psychiatric disorder with varied symptoms.
- Brain network alterations are often observed in SZ, typically studied using resting-state functional connectivity.
- Task-related brain organization in SZ remains less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate task-related alterations in brain organization during auditory tasks in individuals with schizophrenia.
- To examine functional connectivity gradients and infra-slow sequential organization in SZ.
- To identify potential biomarkers for SZ classification and clinical course.
Main Methods:
- Functional connectivity gradient analysis during auditory tasks.
- Infra-slow sequential organization analysis, focusing on phase shifts.
- Decoding analyses to classify schizophrenia patients from healthy controls using phase shift values.
Main Results:
- Disrupted functional hierarchical organization was observed in SZ patients.
- Significant differences in phase shifts were found in somatomotor, parietal, and supracallosal anterior cingulate cortex between SZ and healthy controls (HC).
- Phase shift values reliably classified SZ from HC and correlated with clinical courses in the postcentral gyrus.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenia is characterized by abnormal hierarchical organization during auditory processing.
- Infra-slow propagation patterns differ significantly between individuals with SZ and HC.
- Task-related brain organization analysis offers potential for SZ diagnosis and understanding disease progression.
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