Altered cortical-striatal circuits connectivity is associated with psychotic symptoms in patients with first-episode, drug-naïve early-onset schizophrenia

EOS not only showed aberrant FC in cortico-striato-cerebellar circuits, but also exhibited disrupted causal connectivity in striatal-amygdala circuits and within prefrontal cortex. Importantly, hyperconnectivity within the cortical-striatal circuits may represent a key neural mechanism underlying the psychotic symptoms of EOS.