Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41083301›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Voice as a digital biomarker in schizophrenia: a scoping review protocol on the application of artificial intelligence.

Mehrdad Amir-Behghadami, Sara Farhang, Taha Soltani, Alireza Lotfi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Mehrdad Amir-BehghadamiStudent Research Committee (SRC), Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6723-6438
Sara FarhangResearch Center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8552-138X
Taha SoltaniDepartment of Health Information Technology, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran lotfialireza2003@gmail.com taha.soltany@gmail.com.
Alireza LotfiStudent Research Committee (SRC), Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran lotfialireza2003@gmail.com taha.soltany@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4224-9571

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThere are many barriers to mental health services, including cost and stigma. Even when individuals receive professional care, assessments are intermittent and may be limited in part by the cyclical nature of psychiatric symptoms. The human voice might have the potential to serve as a valuable biomarker in the identification, early diagnosis or monitoring of psychiatric conditions. Therefore, this protocol presents a proposed scoping review with the aim of synthesising existing knowledge on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) in the management of individuals at risk of/suffering from schizophrenia through audio samples as a biomarker. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines and Arksey & O'Malley's scoping review framework (with recent advancements), we systematically mapped the literature on the application of voice-based biomarkers in schizophrenia. Several databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, Embase, Compendex, CINAHL, Scientific Information Database, Magiran, IranMedex and Barakat knowledge network system) will be systematically searched for relevant studies through 2025. All searches will be conducted for peer-reviewed articles/studies published in Persian and English between 1 January 2012 and 1 September 2025. Two researchers will independently carry out screening of the included studies and extraction of data. Any discrepancies will be resolved by consensus. In case no initial consensus is reached, a third researcher will be consulted to make a decision. Findings will be presented narratively in the form of text, summary tables, charts and figures for each research question. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This proposed scoping review is based on publicly available information and is also a review of primary studies, so ethics and publication ethics approval are not required because all data from this study have been previously published. The findings of this review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at national or international congresses and conferences. Importantly, the initial results from this review will serve as a basis for the design and validation of an intelligent clinical decision support system based on acoustic biomarkers for patients with schizophrenia, using AI or ML techniques. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Not registered.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceSchizophreniaVoiceBiomarkersHumansMachine LearningResearch DesignScoping Reviews as TopicBiomarkersAdult psychiatryDigital TechnologyeHealthHealth informaticsInformation technologyPSYCHIATRY

Identifiers

PMID41083301
PMCPMC12519660

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.