Static and dynamic brain region activation abnormalities in schizophrenia: Evidence from fNIRS.

Authors

Linxuan Wang, Tongxin Li, Fangyi Jin, Xiaofei Zhang, Nannan Liu, Shaobing Li, Xinxu Wang, Lili Wang, Shen Li

Published in

Schizophrenia research. Volume 296. Pages 75-82. Jul 08, 2026. Epub Jul 08, 2026.

Abstract

Schizophrenia (SZ) is characterized by marked cognitive impairments and substantial clinical heterogeneity. The temporal variability of brain activity may contribute to its complex symptoms, but remains poorly understood. This study examined static and dynamic brain region activation (BRA) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to identify neural alterations in SZ and explore their clinical relevance.
Forty-four SZ patients and 36 healthy controls were recruited and completed fNIRS during a verbal fluency task. Cognition and symptoms were assessed using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Static BRA was calculated from time-averaged activation, while dynamic BRA was derived using sliding-window and principal component analyses. Correlations and regressions examined relationships between BRA and clinical measures.
SZ patients showed nominally increased static BRA in the right prefrontal cortex (RPFC) and premotor cortex (RPMC) at the uncorrected level. Dynamic analysis revealed reduced PC1-derived BRA in the right medial prefrontal cortex, right occipital lobe (ROL), and RPMC (all p-FDR < 0.05). Several dynamic BRA were associated with clinical symptoms and cognitive function. Regression models confirmed that RPFC activation contributed to general psychopathology scores (β = -0.476, p-FDR = 0.017) and PANSS total scores (β = -0.534, p-FDR = 0.009). Regarding cognition, left supplementary motor area activation contributed to language scores (β = -0.502, p-FDR = 0.012), and ROL activation contributed to visuospatial/constructional scores (β = -0.378, p-FDR = 0.033).
SZ involves both altered overall activation and abnormal dynamic hemodynamic responses during verbal fluency.

PMID:
42418868
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Jul 2026.

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