Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42094072›Full record

ArticleResearch square2026

Resting-State Brain Age Predicts Cognitive and Sensorimotor Deficits in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Validation & Longitudinal Study.

Sebastian Volkmer, Stefan Fritze, Dilsa Cemre Akkoc Altinok, Geva Brandt, Ersoy Kocak, Julius Wiegert, Oksana Berhe, Yuchen Lin, Heike Tost, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg and 2 more

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Article in Research square, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Sebastian VolkmerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4489-9125
Stefan FritzeDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Dilsa Cemre Akkoc AltinokDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Geva BrandtDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Ersoy KocakDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Julius WiegertDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Oksana BerheDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Yuchen LinDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Heike TostDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7339-7569
Andreas Meyer-LindenbergDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.
Dusan HirjakDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1226-9800
Emanuel SchwarzDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany, Mannheim, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0261-5063

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Brain-age models use neuroimaging features to predict chronological age and thereby estimate normative lifespan patterns; the resulting brain-age gap (BAG) quantifies deviation from age-expected brain characteristics. Structural brain-age acceleration is well established in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), but the utility of resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC)-based brain age remains unclear. Here, we trained rs-FC brain-age models on aggregated lifespan data from healthy controls (N≈2,200) and evaluated them in four independent SSD case-control cohorts. Across cohorts and atlases, SSD showed higher FC-based BAG than healthy controls (β≈0.4-0.6), indicating modest functional brain-age elevation at the group level. However, within SSD, more negative (delayed maturation) BAG was associated with poorer cognitive performance, longer duration of illness, and higher neurological soft signs (NSS). Over 12-24 weeks, increases in BAG accompanied reductions in NSS motor coordination and hard signs. Together, these findings suggest that rs-FC brain age captures both a small case-control shift and a clinically relevant dimension within SSD that is not well described by uniform "acceleration". FC-based BAG may therefore reflect heterogeneity in network-level development and reorganization, with younger-appearing functional profiles indexing greater neurodevelopmental burden.

Indexed as

brain agefunctional connectivitymachine learningresting state fMRIschizophrenia

Identifiers

PMID42094072
PMCPMC13142645

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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.