Zhe Dong, Gang Wu, Hongbing Liu, Song Chen, Bin Bi, Fangfang Zhang, Yi Yin, Wei Qu, Baopeng Tian, Fude Yang, Alice Kochunov, Peter Kochunov, Shengmei Ban, Yang Zhao, L Elliot Hong, Yunlong Tan
{"title":"Cardiovascular comorbidities in Chinese inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.","authors":"Zhe Dong, Gang Wu, Hongbing Liu, Song Chen, Bin Bi, Fangfang Zhang, Yi Yin, Wei Qu, Baopeng Tian, Fude Yang, Alice Kochunov, Peter Kochunov, Shengmei Ban, Yang Zhao, L Elliot Hong, Yunlong Tan","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00576-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00576-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of premature mortality in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). However, the detailed categorization of these conditions remains insufficiently explored. This study aims to identify CVDs comorbidity patterns among inpatients with SSDs and to investigate associated factors. Electronic medical records (EMRs) data from three neuropsychiatric hospitals (2015-2023) in China was conducted. Comorbidity patterns were revealed through latent class analysis (LCA), and multinomial logit analysis were utilized to evaluate the effect of factors on these patterns, calculating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Among the 2830 inpatients with SSD, four distinct comorbidity patterns were identified based on their dominant characteristics: low-risk CVDs (47.86%), primary hypertension (30.15%), heart failure (12.99%), and cardiac valve and vascular disorders (8.99%). Compared to the low-risk CVD group, male patients demonstrated a higher probability of primary hypertension (OR = 1.15) and heart failure (OR = 5.36). Significant associations were observed between comorbid CVDs and the use of typical antipsychotics, atypical antipsychotics, anxiolytics and sedatives, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers. Notably, perphenazine (OR = 22.06) and chlorpromazine hydrochloride (OR = 7.09) were strongly linked to comorbid heart failure. Among Chinese patients with SSDs, four distinct CVD comorbidity patterns were identified, with hypertension and heart failure displaying strong specificity. Variations in demographic characteristics and psychotropic medication use provide valuable insights for treatment and management.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"22"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11840127/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143461051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frigyes Samuel Racz, Kinga Farkas, Melinda Becske, Hajnalka Molnar, Zsuzsanna Fodor, Peter Mukli, Gabor Csukly
{"title":"Reduced temporal variability of cortical excitation/inhibition ratio in schizophrenia.","authors":"Frigyes Samuel Racz, Kinga Farkas, Melinda Becske, Hajnalka Molnar, Zsuzsanna Fodor, Peter Mukli, Gabor Csukly","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00568-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00568-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Altered neural excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance has long been suspected as a potential underlying cause for clinical symptoms in schizophrenia (SZ). Recent methodological advancements linking the spectral slope (β) of neurophysiological recordings - such as them electroencephalogram (EEG) - to E/I ratio provided much-needed tools to better understand this plausible relationship. Importantly, most approaches treat E/I ratio as a stationary feature in a single scaling range. On the other hand, previous research indicates that this property might change over time, as well as it can express different characteristics in low- and high-frequency regimes. In line, in this study we analyzed resting-state EEG recordings from 30 patients with SZ and 31 healthy controls (HC) and characterized E/I ratio via β separately for low- (1-4 Hz) and high- (20-45 Hz) frequency regimes in a time-resolved manner. Results from this analysis confirmed the bimodal nature of power spectra in both HC and SZ, with steeper spectral slopes in the high- compared to low-frequency ranges. We did not observe any between-group differences in stationary (i.e., time-averaged) neural signatures, however, the temporal variance of β in the 20-45 Hz regime was significantly reduced in SZ patients when compared to HC, predominantly over regions corresponding to the dorsal attention network. Furthermore, this alteration was found correlated to positive clinical symptom scores. Our study indicates that altered E/I ratio dynamics are a characteristic trait of SZ that reflect pathophysiological processes involving the parietal and occipital cortices, potentially responsible for some of the clinical features of the disorder.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"20"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11836122/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143451206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Noora Räsänen, Jari Tiihonen, Marja Koskuvi, Kalevi Trontti, Lesley Cheng, Andrew F Hill, Šárka Lehtonen, Olli Vaurio, Ilkka Ojansuu, Markku Lähteenvuo, Olli Pietiläinen, Jari Koistinaho
{"title":"miRNA profiling of hiPSC-derived neurons from monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia.","authors":"Noora Räsänen, Jari Tiihonen, Marja Koskuvi, Kalevi Trontti, Lesley Cheng, Andrew F Hill, Šárka Lehtonen, Olli Vaurio, Ilkka Ojansuu, Markku Lähteenvuo, Olli Pietiläinen, Jari Koistinaho","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00573-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00573-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Schizophrenia is a complex developmental disorder whose molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. The developmental course of schizophrenia can be modeled with human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) -derived brain cells that carry patient-specific genetic risk factors for the disorder. Although transcriptomic characterization of the patient-derived cells is a standard procedure, microRNA (miRNA) profiling is less frequently performed. To investigate the role of miRNAs in transcriptomic regulation in schizophrenia, we performed miRNA sequencing for hiPSC-derived neurons from five monozygotic twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia and six controls (CTR). We compared the miRNA expression to differentially expressed genes (DEGs) reported for the same cells in our earlier work. We found 21 DEmiRNAs between the affected twins (AT) and CTR with implications for the regulation of neuronal function. In addition, a separate analysis of three AT with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS), their unaffected twins (UT), and CTR revealed an upregulation of four miRNAs in the UT compared to both AT and CTR. The DEmiRNAs found between the UT and CTR were associated with increased cAMP/PKA signaling and synaptogenesis signaling in the UT. We hypothesize that the upregulation of these processes in the UT could be linked to compensatory features against schizophrenia.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"21"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11836399/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143451202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Intersensory attention deficits in schizophrenia relate to ongoing sensorimotor beta oscillations.","authors":"James Kenneth Moran, Daniel Senkowski","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00571-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00571-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study tested whether intersensory attention deficits in people with schizophrenia (SZ) relate to aberrant ongoing oscillations in sensory cortices. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded while individuals with schizophrenia (N = 27) and healthy controls (HC; N = 27) performed a visual-tactile target detection task. Ongoing alpha (8-12 Hz) and lower beta (13-20 Hz) band oscillations in visual and sensorimotor cortices were examined. Behavioral data suggested an intersensory attention deficit in patients. EEG data revealed stronger alpha-band oscillations for tactile vs. visual attention conditions in the visual cortex of both study groups. In the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the tactile stimulation site, patients showed an additional intersensory attention effect in ongoing beta-band oscillations, which was negatively related to cognitive and positive symptoms of the PANSS. Our findings extend previous results from unisensory attention research and suggest that deficits in intersensory attention and alterations in sensorimotor beta oscillations are related to schizophrenia symptomatology.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"19"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11832887/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143442863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joshua Chiappelli, Yizhou Ma, Tiffany Beason, Stephanie M Hare
{"title":"Moral emotions and auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia.","authors":"Joshua Chiappelli, Yizhou Ma, Tiffany Beason, Stephanie M Hare","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00574-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00574-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Adolescence and early adulthood are characterized by the development of cognitive and social skills necessary for autonomous functioning in adult roles. As classically described by Erik Erikson, this developmental process involves forging a meaningful sense of identity, comprising a worldview, set of moral values, and occupational aspirations. This may require individuals questioning or defying the expectations and norms they have learned within the social context of their upbringing; simultaneously they remain acutely sensitive to the judgment of their peers. This developmental period encompasses the age range in which schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses are most likely to present. As early as 1914 Sigmund Freud postulated a connection between auditory hallucinations and the formation of an independent moral perspective, which served as the basis for his concept of the superego. However, the connection between processes of identity formation and development of psychosis has not been extensively investigated with the current technologies and knowledge base of biological psychiatry, possibly due to the challenges inherent in operationalizing and measuring aspects of personal and moral identity. In this theoretical review we aim to identify areas of overlap between normative developmental processes in the transition to adulthood, the experience of moral emotions, and the phenomenology of hallucinations in schizophrenia, to build a conceptual framework for novel approaches to the study of psychosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"18"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11830032/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143426785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Potential of extracellular vesicle cargo as molecular signals in Schizophrenia: a scoping review.","authors":"Shivaprakash Gangachannaiah, Smita Shenoy, Dinesh Upadhya, Elstin Anbu Raj Stanly, Nachiket Gudi, Pallavi Lakshmi Chandrashekar, Samir Kumar Praharaj","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00566-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00566-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The diagnosis of schizophrenia (SCZ) primarily relies on clinical history and mental status assessments by trained professionals. There has been a search for biomarkers to facilitate laboratory diagnosis. Since extracellular vesicles (EVs) communicate with brain cells and can easily cross blood-brain barrier, there is increased interest among experts to explore them as potential molecular signals for disease detection. A scoping review was conducted to provide a comprehensive summary of the existing literature to identify the differentially expressed molecular signals in EVs isolated from SCZ patients. The methodological framework outline provided by Arksey and O'Malley was employed to conduct this scoping review. A systematic search was conducted using a search string across four databases, ultimately leading to selection of 24 relevant studies. Over 1122 differentially expressed biomolecules were identified in EVs extracted from biological fluids and tissues that can be primarily categorized as RNAs, proteins, and metabolites. Among them, 83 biomolecules were identified as validated differentially expressed molecular signals, which included metabolites, circRNAs, lncRNAs, miRNAs, and proteins. These biomolecules were found to affect cellular receptors and intracellular pathways, neurotransmitters, mitochondrial functions, immune-related functions, and metabolic pathways, which could serve as potential biomarkers for SCZ diagnosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"17"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11822128/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143412055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stefan Fritze, Geva A Brandt, Sebastian Volkmer, Jonas Daub, Dilsa Cemre Akkoc Altinok, Katharina M Kubera, Christoph U Correll, Georg Northoff, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Dusan Hirjak
{"title":"Sensori- and psychomotor abnormalities, psychopathological symptoms and functionality in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: a network analytic approach.","authors":"Stefan Fritze, Geva A Brandt, Sebastian Volkmer, Jonas Daub, Dilsa Cemre Akkoc Altinok, Katharina M Kubera, Christoph U Correll, Georg Northoff, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Dusan Hirjak","doi":"10.1038/s41537-024-00547-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-024-00547-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sensori- and psychomotor abnormalities are an inherent part of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) pathophysiology and linked to psychopathological symptoms as well as cognitive and global functioning. However, how these different symptom clusters simultaneously interact with each other is still unclear. Here, we examined 192 SSD patients (37.75 ± 12.15 years, 73 females). First, we investigated the cross-sectional prevalence and overlap of individual sensori- and psychomotor abnormalities. Second, we applied network analysis methods to simultaneously model the associations between Neurological Soft Signs (NSS), level of akathisia, parkinsonism symptoms, tardive dyskinesia (TD) and catatonia signs as well as cognition, psychopathology, global functioning and daily antipsychotic dose. The largest centralities were exhibited by NSS (0.90), catatonia signs (0.82) and global functioning (0.79). NSS showed strong partial correlations with cognition and parkinsonism symptoms (edge weight, ew = 0.409 and ew = 0.318, respectively). Catatonia signs showed strong connections with global functioning (ew = 0.333). In contrast, TD, akathisia and daily antipsychotic dose were weakly connected with other variables (e.g., largest ew=0.176 between TD and akathisia). In conclusion, NSS and cognition, parkinsonism symptoms and NSS as well as catatonia signs and global functioning seem to be preferentially connected in SSD. The daily medication had little influence on sensori- and psychomotor abnormalities, indicating that they are features of core SSD pathophysiology. Future studies should incorporate these relationships to enhance the understanding of SSD.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"16"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11821994/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143412056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Efficacy of identifying Treatment-Resistant and non-Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia using niacin skin flushing response combined with clinical feature.","authors":"Jizhi Wang, Jinfeng Wang, Siyuan Wang, Yu Gu, Kai Liang, Yingxu Li, Zheng Zhang, Yan Li, Xiaoping Wang, Huijuan Guo, Jiansong Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00567-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00567-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is a serious mental disease and early identification of this disease is necessary for timely initiation of treatment strategies and management measures. This study aimed to investigate the potential of niacin skin flushing response (NSFR) combined with clinical features in recognizing TRS and non-TRS (NTRS). A total of 269 patients with schizophrenia (99 TRS and 170 NTRS) were included in this study. We conducted NSFR test on 269 participants. Positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status (RBANS) and insight and treatment attitudes questionnaires (ITAQ) were used to assess the patients' psychiatric symptoms, cognitive function, and attitude towards illness and treatment, respectively. Differences in NSFR and clinical features between TRS and NTRS were assessed and the relation was evaluated using Spearman correlation. The efficacy of NSFR and clinical features in identifying TRS was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Patients with TRS have enhanced NSFR compared to patients with NTRS, and NSFR was positively correlated with the course of the disease. PANSS total score was negatively correlated with the age of first onset, RBANS total score, and ITAQ score and positively correlated with the course of disease. Age of first onset, course of disease, RBANS total score, and NSFR were poor indicators for identifying TRS and NTRS. The ITAQ score has better diagnostic validity for TRS compared to the above indicators. Among the clinical features, the ITAQ has an important role in recognizing TRS. The NSFR has poor efficacy in recognizing TRS.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"15"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11806114/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143371391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiangning Chen, Yimei Lu, Joan Manuel Cue, Mira V Han, Vishwajit L Nimgaonkar, Daniel R Weinberger, Shizhong Han, Zhongming Zhao, Jingchun Chen
{"title":"Classification of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder with comorbid traits and deep learning algorithms.","authors":"Xiangning Chen, Yimei Lu, Joan Manuel Cue, Mira V Han, Vishwajit L Nimgaonkar, Daniel R Weinberger, Shizhong Han, Zhongming Zhao, Jingchun Chen","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00564-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00564-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many psychiatric disorders share genetic liabilities, but whether these shared liabilities can be utilized to classify and differentiate psychiatric disorders remains unclear. In this study, we use polygenic risk scores (PRSs) of 42 traits comorbid with schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BIP), and major depressive disorder (MDD) to evaluate their utilities. We found that combining target specific PRS with PRSs of comorbid traits can improve the classification of the target disorders. Importantly, without inclusion of PRSs from targeted disorders, we can still classify SCZ (accuracy 0.710 ± 0.008, AUC 0.789 ± 0.011), BIP (accuracy 0.782 ± 0.006, AUC 0.852 ± 0.004), and MDD (accuracy 0.753 ± 0.019, AUC 0.822 ± 0.010). Furthermore, PRSs from comorbid traits alone can effectively differentiate unaffected controls and patients with SCZ, BIP, and MDD (accuracy 0.861 ± 0.003, AUC 0.961 ± 0.041). Our results demonstrate that shared liabilities can be used effectively to improve the classification and differentiation of these disorders. The finding that PRSs from comorbid traits alone can classify and differentiate SCZ, BIP and MDD reasonably well implies that a majority of the risk variants composing target PRSs are shared with comorbid traits. Overall, our results suggest that a data-driven approach may be feasible to classify and differentiate these disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"14"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11799204/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143257470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chenyang Yao, Youjin Zhao, Qian Zhang, Ziyuan Zhao, Kai Ai, Bo Zhang, Su Lui
{"title":"The immediate alteration of cerebellar Glx/GABA and cerebello-thalamo-cortical connectivity in patients with schizophrenia after cerebellar TMS.","authors":"Chenyang Yao, Youjin Zhao, Qian Zhang, Ziyuan Zhao, Kai Ai, Bo Zhang, Su Lui","doi":"10.1038/s41537-025-00563-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41537-025-00563-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cerebellar dysfunction is a key aspect of schizophrenia, with the cerebello-thalamo-cortical (CTC) hyperconnectivity serving as a neural signature. Abnormalities in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate + glutamine (Glx) levels also contribute to this pathology. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied to the cerebellum shows potential in alleviating schizophrenia symptoms, possibly by modulating functional connectivity or neurotransmitter levels. This study aims to explore the immediate effects of cerebellar TMS on CTC circuitry and neurotransmitter levels to elucidate its therapeutic mechanisms in schizophrenia.The study involved 19 stable schizophrenia patients and 26 healthy controls, diagnosed according to DSM-V criteria and assessed for symptom severity using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). MRI scans were conducted pre- and post-TMS to detect changes in CTC functional connectivity, GABA, Glx, and Glx/GABA. Linear Mixed-Effects Model (LMEM) and two-sample tests were employed to analyze changes in these variables from baseline to post-TMS. Pearson's correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships among these variables and their association with PANSS scores. Mediation analyses were employed to investigate whether GABA and/or Glx serve as potential mediators of CTC hyperconnectivity in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia patients exhibit CTC hyperconnectivity, which remains at a relatively stable level after cerebellar TMS. Compared to healthy controls, schizophrenia patients have significantly higher cerebellar GABA levels, and cerebellar GABA has a significant mediation effect on CTC hyperconnectivity in patients. The Glx/GABA ratio was associated with the severity of clinical symptoms in patients, and cerebellar TMS partially normalized this ratio. Our findings demonstrate that aberrant cerebellar GABA levels contribute to CTC hyperconnectivity in schizophrenia. Additionally, our study shows that cerebellar TMS can increase Glx levels in schizophrenia patients, leading to the normalization of the Glx/GABA ratio, which may contribute to the therapeutic effects of TMS in schizophrenia.</p>","PeriodicalId":74758,"journal":{"name":"Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany)","volume":"11 1","pages":"12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11794885/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143191507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}