Background: Seed-based studies on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in schizophrenia have shown disrupted connectivity involving a number of brain networks; however, the results have been controversial. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis based on independent component analysis (ICA) brain templates to evaluate dysconnectivity within resting-state brain networks in patients with schizophrenia. Seventy-six rsFC studies from 70 publications with 2,588 schizophrenia patients and 2,567 healthy controls (HCs) were included in the present meta-analysis. The locations and activation effects of significant intergroup comparisons were extracted and classified based on the ICA templates. Then, multilevel kernel density analysis was used to integrate the results and control bias. Results: Compared with HCs, significant hypoconnectivities were observed between the seed regions and the areas in the auditory network (left insula), core network (right superior temporal cortex), default mode network (right medial prefrontal cortex, and left precuneus and anterior cingulate cortices), self-referential network (right superior temporal cortex), and somatomotor network (right precentral gyrus) in schizophrenia patients. No hyperconnectivity between the seed regions and any other areas within the networks was detected in patients, compared with the connectivity in HCs. Conclusions: Decreased rsFC within the self-referential network and default mode network might play fundamental roles in the malfunction of information processing, while the core network might act as a dysfunctional hub of regulation. Our meta-analysis is consistent with diffuse hypoconnectivities as a dysregulated brain network model of schizophrenia.

Although previous studies have reported deficits in the gray matter volume of schizophrenic patients, it remains unclear whether these deficits occur at the onset of the disease, before treatment, and whether they are progressive over the duration of untreated disease. Furthermore, the gray matter volume represents the combinations of cortical thickness and surface area; these features are believed to be influenced by different genetic factors. However, cortical thickness and surface area in antipsychotic-naive first-episode schizophrenic patients have seldom been investigated. Here, the cortical thicknesses and surface areas of 128 antipsychotic-naive first-episode schizophrenic patients were compared with 128 healthy controls. The patients exhibited significantly lower cortical thickness, primarily in the bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortex, and increased thickness in the bilateral anterior temporal lobes, left medial orbitofrontal cortex, and left cuneus. Furthermore, decreased cortical thickness was related to positive schizophrenia symptoms but not to the severity of negative symptoms and the untreated disease duration. No significant difference of surface area was observed between the 2 groups. Thus, without the confounding factors of medication and illness progression, this study provides further evidence to support anatomical deficits in the prefrontal and parietal cortex early in course of the illness. The increased thicknesses of the bilateral anterior temporal lobes may represent a compensatory factor or may be an early-course neuronal pathology caused by preapoptotic osmotic changes or hypertrophy. Furthermore, these anatomical deficits are crucial to the pathogenesis of positive symptoms and relatively stable instead of progressing during the early stages of the disease.

IMPORTANCE Accumulating evidence supports the hypothesis that cerebral white matter abnormalities are involved in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia; however, findings from in vivo neuroimaging studies have been inconsistent. Besides confounding factors, including age, illness duration, and medication effects, an additional cause for the inconsistent results may be heterogeneity in the nature of white matter alterations associated with the disorder.OBJECTIVE To investigate whether different patterns of white matter abnormalities exist in a large cohort of medication-naive patients with first-episode schizophrenia and the relationship between such patterns and clinical parameters. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSA cross-sectional diffusion tensor imaging study of 113 medication-naive patients with first-episode schizophrenia and 110 demographically matched healthy control individuals. The study was conducted in the mental health center of West

The accelerated age-related decline in prefrontal and temporal cortical thickness in never-medicated schizophrenia patients suggests a neuroprogressive process in some brain regions. Slower age-related cortical thinning of the superior parietal cortex and striatal volumetric abnormalities unrelated to age suggest different pathological processes over time in these regions.