Two distinct thalamic subtypes associated with cognitive impairment in first-episode schizophrenia

Motivation: Schizophrenia is characterized by high heterogeneity, with the core symptom of cognitive impairment. However, it is unclear that whether the patterns of thalamic nuclei volume alterations is associated with cognitive function in schizophrenia. Goal(s): To investigate the pattern and heterogeneity of thalamic nuclei alterations and cognition in schizophrenia. Approach: The cluster analysis (K-means++) was used to identify the subtype of schizophrenia. And machine learning model was developed to validate the reproducibility of subtypes. Results: We uncovered two markedly distinct neuroanatomical subtypes of schizophrenia. One of the subtypes characterized as widespread decrease in thalamic nuclei and severe cognition deficit. Impact: These findings could help to identify biological targets related to the treatment of schizophrenia, and improve the functional outcomes in patients with schizophrenia.