Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41140039›Full record

ArticleEuropean psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists2025

Neural and somatic mechanisms driving clinical improvements in post-acute schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Lukas Roell, Christoph Lindner, Isabel Maurus, Daniel Keeser, Berend Malchow, Andrea Schmitt, Peter Falkai

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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  3. Article
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

7 authors.

Lukas RoellDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0284-2290
Christoph LindnerMax Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5688-3146
Isabel MaurusDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-6208-5180
Daniel KeeserDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0244-1024
Berend MalchowDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5707-7602
Andrea SchmittDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5426-4023
Peter FalkaiDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA better mechanistic understanding of schizophrenia spectrum disorders is crucial to developing efficient treatment approaches. Therefore, this study investigated longitudinal interrelations between clinical outcomes, brain structure, and somatic health in post-acute individuals from the schizophrenia spectrum.

methodsA sample of 63 post-acute patients from two independent physical exercise studies was included in the final analyses. Demographic, clinical, cognitive, and somatic data were acquired at baseline and follow-up, as were structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Multivariate cross-lagged panel modeling including mediators was used to study the mutual interrelations over time between the clinical, neural, and somatic levels.

resultsA higher baseline global gray matter volume and larger regional gray matter volumes of the hippocampal formation, precuneus, and posterior cingulate predicted improved clinical outcomes, such as daily-life functioning, negative symptoms, and cognition. Increases in white matter volume from baseline to follow-up resulted in significantly reduced positive symptoms and higher daily-life functioning.

conclusionsOur findings suggest that stimulating neuroplasticity, especially in the hippocampal formation, precuneus, and posterior cingulate gyrus, may represent a promising treatment target in post-acute schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Physical exercise therapies and other lifestyle interventions, and brain stimulation approaches reflect potential treatment candidates. Given the exploratory character of the statistical analysis performed, these findings need to be replicated in independent longitudinal imaging cohorts of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Indexed as

Gray MatterGyrus CinguliHippocampusNeuronal PlasticityParietal LobeSchizophreniaWhite MatterAdultFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle Agedclinical trajectoriesexercisegray matter volumeMRIschizophrenia

Identifiers

PMID41140039
PMCPMC12646119

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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.