Dissociable anterior and posterior beta-burst dynamics track thought disorder in schizophrenia
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- 2Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- 3Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- 4Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- 5Research Centre, University of Montreal Health Centre (CRCHUM), Montreal, QC, Canada
- 6Department of Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Abstract
Background: Thought disorder in schizophrenia likely reflects disrupted maintenance of internal models during predictive processing. Beta oscillations have been proposed to index top-down predictive signalling, but prior resting-state studies have focused on spectral power, overlooking transient burst dynamics that potentially stabilize and reinstate internal representations, especially in the default mode network (DMN).
Methods: Resting-state magnetoencephalography was acquired from 25 patients (7 females) with schizophrenia and 25 matched controls (8 females) between May 2024 and October 2025. Beta bursts (15–30 Hz) were extracted from source-localized cortical time series, and burst rate, duration, power, and inter-regional synchrony were quantified. Associations with computationally derived semantic and syntactic speech features reflecting thought disorder were assessed using principal-component regression in the patient group.
Results: Conventional beta power did not differ between groups after correction. In contrast, beta-burst dynamics showed significant group-by-anterior–posterior-position interactions for burst rate (p = 0.018), power (p = 0.0014), and duration (p < 0.001). Within the DMN, patients showed shorter inferior parietal burst duration (t(46.0) = −2.74, FDR-adjusted p = 0.0343) and increased burst synchrony within left prefrontal cortex (t(31.0) = 2.81, FDR-adjusted p = 0.0343) and between prefrontal cortices (t(29.8) = 2.73, FDR-adjusted p = 0.0423). Within the patient group, burst components were associated with speech organization (R2 = 0.47, F(3,19) = 5.66, p = 0.006), driven by the inferior parietal burst-duration component (β = −0.55, p = 0.0036), but did not relate to overall clinical severity.
Limitations: The modest patient sample, short resting-state recording, cross-sectional design, and lack of laminar specificity limit causal and mechanistic inference; burst-speech associations require replication.
Conclusion: Schizophrenia is associated with dissociable anterior and posterior beta-burst abnormalities that track objective speech markers of thought disorder. These findings suggest impaired hierarchical coordination of predictive beta signalling as a candidate neurophysiological account linking intrinsic network dysfunction to disorganized thought.
Related
- Salvage Management of Anterior-Posterior Compression (APC) Type II Pelvic Ring Injury Using Isolated Posterior Fixation After Anterior Implant Removal: A Case Report
- Regional biomechanical differences in human ascending aortic aneurysm wall: a paired anterior–posterior analysis
- Determining malignancy in thyroid nodules featuring anterior macrocalcifications with strong posterior acoustic shadowing: the combined utility of US-FNA and BRAF V600E mutation analysis
- Impact of Suture Configurations for Posterior Horn Meniscal Repair on Postoperative Stability and Reoperation Rates in Patients Undergoing Concurrent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Retrospective Comparative Study
- Nucleus Accumbens-Anterior Limb of Internal Capsule Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: An Open-label Pilot Study
BibTeX
@article{wei2026dissociable,
title = {{Dissociable anterior and posterior beta-burst dynamics track thought disorder in schizophrenia}},
author = {Hsi T. Wei and Lindsey Power and Rukun Dou and Sylvain Baillet and Lena Palaniyappan},
journal = {Journal of Psychiatry \& Neuroscience: JPN},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1139/jpn-2026-0094},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1139/jpn-2026-0094},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dissociable anterior and posterior beta-burst dynamics track thought disorder in schizophrenia
AU - Hsi T. Wei
AU - Lindsey Power
AU - Rukun Dou
AU - Sylvain Baillet
AU - Lena Palaniyappan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience: JPN
DO - 10.1139/jpn-2026-0094
UR - https://doi.org/10.1139/jpn-2026-0094
AB - Background: Thought disorder in schizophrenia likely reflects disrupted maintenance of internal models during predictive processing. Beta oscillations have been proposed to index top-down predictive signalling, but prior resting-state studies have focused on spectral power, overlooking transient burst dynamics that potentially stabilize and reinstate internal representations, especially in the default mode network (DMN). Methods: Resting-state magnetoencephalography was acquired from 25 patients (7 females) with schizophrenia and 25 matched controls (8 females) between May 2024 and October 2025. Beta bursts (15–30 Hz) were extracted from source-localized cortical time series, and burst rate, duration, power, and inter-regional synchrony were quantified. Associations with computationally derived semantic and syntactic speech features reflecting thought disorder were assessed using principal-component regression in the patient group. Results: Conventional beta power did not differ between groups after correction. In contrast, beta-burst dynamics showed significant group-by-anterior–posterior-position interactions for burst rate (p = 0.018), power (p = 0.0014), and duration (p < 0.001). Within the DMN, patients showed shorter inferior parietal burst duration (t(46.0) = −2.74, FDR-adjusted p = 0.0343) and increased burst synchrony within left prefrontal cortex (t(31.0) = 2.81, FDR-adjusted p = 0.0343) and between prefrontal cortices (t(29.8) = 2.73, FDR-adjusted p = 0.0423). Within the patient group, burst components were associated with speech organization (R2 = 0.47, F(3,19) = 5.66, p = 0.006), driven by the inferior parietal burst-duration component (β = −0.55, p = 0.0036), but did not relate to overall clinical severity. Limitations: The modest patient sample, short resting-state recording, cross-sectional design, and lack of laminar specificity limit causal and mechanistic inference; burst-speech associations require replication. Conclusion: Schizophrenia is associated with dissociable anterior and posterior beta-burst abnormalities that track objective speech markers of thought disorder. These findings suggest impaired hierarchical coordination of predictive beta signalling as a candidate neurophysiological account linking intrinsic network dysfunction to disorganized thought.
SN - 1180-4882
SN - 1488-2434
ER -