Altered Functional Hierarchical and Sequential Organization in Individuals with Schizophrenia during Auditory Processing

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe psychiatric disorder with heterogeneous symptoms. It often entails alterations in brain networks, conventionally probed by functional connectivity using resting-state data. This study investigated task-related alterations in brain organization, including the functional connectivity gradient and infra-slow sequential organization, during auditory tasks in individuals with SZ. Functional connectivity gradient analysis showed disrupted functional hierarchical organization in SZ. Sequential organization represented significant differences in phase shifts between SZ and healthy controls (HC) over the somatomotor, parietal, and supracallosal anterior cingulate cortex. Decoding analyses reliably classified SZ from HC using phase shift values. Particularly, phase shifts in the postcentral gyrus correlated with clinical courses. These findings indicate that SZ is characterized by abnormal hierarchical organization and infra-slow propagation during auditory processing.