Disrupted metabolic support of intrinsic brain rhythms as a driver of spatiotemporal fragmentation in schizophrenia.
Mário Jorge Cunha
Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews September 28, 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.107007 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Bioenergetics Psychopathology Schizophrenia Spatiality Temporality |
| Key points | Argues that bioenergetic abnormalities are documented in schizophrenia but that available evidence does not establish a uniform metabolic deficit or a causal chain from cellular metabolism to psychopathology. Proposes a testable hypothesis that impaired metabolic adaptation may limit neural reconfiguration across functional states, including oscillatory synchronization, intrinsic neural timescale flexibility, and large-scale network differentiation, and outlines a staged multimodal assay to test it. |
Abstract
Schizophrenia can involve disturbances of lived time, lived space, and pre-reflective selfhood. This Perspective examines whether impaired adaptation of cerebral energy metabolism to changing neural demand could provide a physiological constraint on the temporal and spatial organization of neural activity relevant to these experiences. Evidence from cellular models, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, metabolic imaging, electrophysiology, and functional neuroimaging is synthesized, with emphasis on oxidative capacity, respiratory reserve, high-energy phosphate transfer, glycolytic regulation, and metabolic-neural relationships. Across these levels, bioenergetic abnormalities are documented in schizophrenia, but the available evidence does not establish a uniform metabolic deficit or a causal chain from cellular metabolism to psychopathology. A testable hypothesis is therefore proposed: impaired metabolic adaptation may limit neural reconfiguration across functional states, including oscillatory synchronization, intrinsic neural timescale flexibility, and large-scale network differentiation. A staged multimodal assay is outlined, combining functional [18 F] FDG positron emission tomography and electroencephalography during graded 40-Hz auditory stimulation. Primary analyses test metabolic and neural demand-response functions and their relative scaling; secondary analyses address within-condition coupling, recruitment and recovery kinetics, and dimension-matched associations with lived time, lived space, and self-experience. The framework extends spatiotemporal psychopathology by specifying a candidate physiological mechanism while preserving the distinction between neural and experiential levels. It generates falsifiable predictions for mechanistic, longitudinal, and therapeutic studies in schizophrenia.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Fragile temporal prediction in patients with schizophrenia is related to minimal self disorders Scientific Reports August 15, 2017
- From Experience to Symptoms: A Multilayer Hierarchy of Psychopathological Dimensions in Schizophrenia. Psychopathology June 30, 2025
- Pre-reflective and reflective abnormalities in cortical midline structures in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research June 2, 2025
- Subjective space and time experience in schizophrenia spectrum disorders and mood disorders: Psychometric properties and clinical correlates of the semi-structured STEP interview. Schizophrenia Research July 23, 2026
- Default mode network components and its relationship with anomalous self-experiences in schizophrenia: A rs-fMRI exploratory study. Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging May 1, 2022
and 2 more in the library