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World J Psychiatry. Aug 19, 2026; 16(8): 120370
Published online Aug 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.120370
Published online Aug 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.120370
Neurobiological mechanisms and clinical implications of scene perception impairment in schizophrenia
Zheng Fan, Jing Zhang, Tian-Tian Wang, Xiao-Hong Liu, Wen-Liang Wang, Zhen-He Zhou, Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Mental Health Center of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214151, Jiangsu Province, China
Ke-Ying Lv, Department of Psychiatry, Wuxi Mental Health Center, Wannan Medical College Graduate Training Unit, Wuxi 214151, Jiangsu Province, China
Hong-Liang Zhou, Department of Psychology, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214151, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Zheng Fan and Ke-Ying Lv.
Co-corresponding authors: Zhen-He Zhou and Hong-Liang Zhou.
Author contributions: Zhou ZH and Zhou HL designed the study and contributed equally as co-corresponding authors; Fan Z and Lv KY collected and organized the literature, drafted and revised the manuscript and contributed equally as co-first authors; Zhang J, Wang TT, Liu XH, and Wang WL assisted with literature collection and manuscript revision; and all authors contributed to the manuscript revision and approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: In the course of preparing this manuscript, we utilized ChatGPT to enhance the linguistic quality. Following the application of this tool, we conducted a thorough review and made necessary edits to the content, assuming full responsibility for the publication’s final version.
Supported by Wuxi Taihu Talent Project, No. WXTTP 2021.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Zhen-He Zhou, MD, PhD, Chief Physician, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Mental Health Center of Jiangnan University, No. 156 Qianrong Road, Wuxi 214151, Jiangsu Province, China. zhouzh@jiangnan.edu.cn
Received: February 26, 2026
Revised: April 27, 2026
Accepted: June 15, 2026
Published online: August 19, 2026
Processing time: 142 Days and 20 Hours
Revised: April 27, 2026
Accepted: June 15, 2026
Published online: August 19, 2026
Processing time: 142 Days and 20 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Scene perception impairment in schizophrenia is best understood as a multilevel disturbance that begins with early sensory prediction deficits and unfolds through visual-stream dysfunction, network dysconnectivity, and clinically relevant failures in social-scene interpretation. This review incorporates structural magnetic resonance imaging findings, expands the analysis of effective connectivity and feedforward-feedback abnormalities, links molecular evidence across gene, cell, circuit, and computational levels, and sharpens the discussion of translational implications. Taken together, the literature suggests that scene perception may offer a practical bridge between basic visual neuroscience and real-world functional outcomes.