Sex-related differences in the cortico-thalamo-cerebellar circuit in patients with schizophrenia.

Youxue Zhang, Mingjun Duan, Dezhong Yao, Roberto Rodriguez-Labrada, Cheng Luo, Hui He

Abstract read

In one paragraph

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

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

6 authors.

Youxue Zhang *The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Mingjun Duan *The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Dezhong YaoThe Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Roberto Rodriguez-LabradaChina-Cuba Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Neurotechnology and Brain-Apparatus Communication, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Cheng LuoThe Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Hui HeThe Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Schizophrenia is characterized by substantial clinical heterogeneity, with average differences between males and females in symptom presentation, cognitive function, and treatment response. The cortico-thalamo-cerebellar circuit (CTCC) has been implicated in schizophrenia; however, whether schizophrenia-related alterations in CTCC functional connectivity vary by sex remains unclear. This study examined diagnosis-by-sex interaction effects on CTCC-related functional connectivity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Methods: Resting-state fMRI data were obtained from 108 patients with schizophrenia (53 females) and 93 healthy controls (54 females). Seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis and independent component analysis (ICA) were used to examine group-by-sex interaction effects on CTCC-related functional organization. Results: Significant diagnosis-by-sex interaction effects were identified in several connections involving CTCC-related basal ganglia, thalamic, cerebellar, and cortical regions. Conclusions: Sex moderated selected patterns of CTCC-related functional connectivity in schizophrenia. The findings represent group-level differences with substantial potential overlap between males and females and should not be interpreted as evidence of categorical brain sexual dimorphism or directional circuit mechanisms. Larger, prospectively sex-balanced studies incorporating longitudinal, dynamic, and effective-connectivity analyses are needed to confirm these findings and clarify their functional significance.

Indexed as

cortico-thalamo-cerebellar circuitfMRIfunctional connectivityschizophreniasex differences

Identifiers

PMID42724138

DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1921553

PMCPMC13558228

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.