The study investigates the topological properties of brain functional networks in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The researchers constructed undirected graphs from partial correlation matrices of 90 cortical and subcortical regions for each subject. They found that healthy subjects exhibited efficient small-world properties in their brain functional networks, characterized by high local clustering and short path lengths. In contrast, schizophrenia patients showed disrupted small-world properties, with lower degree of connectivity, strength of connectivity, absolute clustering coefficient, and longer absolute path length. These alterations were observed in many brain regions, particularly in the prefrontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. The study also found a significant correlation between these topological measurements and illness duration, suggesting that the severity of the disorder is related to the duration of illness. These findings support the hypothesis that schizophrenia is a disorder of dysfunctional integration among large, distant brain regions and provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease.The study investigates the topological properties of brain functional networks in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The researchers constructed undirected graphs from partial correlation matrices of 90 cortical and subcortical regions for each subject. They found that healthy subjects exhibited efficient small-world properties in their brain functional networks, characterized by high local clustering and short path lengths. In contrast, schizophrenia patients showed disrupted small-world properties, with lower degree of connectivity, strength of connectivity, absolute clustering coefficient, and longer absolute path length. These alterations were observed in many brain regions, particularly in the prefrontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. The study also found a significant correlation between these topological measurements and illness duration, suggesting that the severity of the disorder is related to the duration of illness. These findings support the hypothesis that schizophrenia is a disorder of dysfunctional integration among large, distant brain regions and provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of the disease.