Publication Name	World Journal of Psychiatry
Manuscript ID	120999
DOI	10.5498/wjp.120999
Country	China

Category	Psychiatry
Manuscript Type	Review
Article Title	Neural mechanisms and circuit foundations of conscious and unconscious dysfunction in schizophrenia
Manuscript Source	Unsolicited Manuscript
All Author List	Jia-Zhao Zhang, Tian-Tian Wang, Jing Zhang, Xin-Yu Wang, Xiao-Hong Liu, Jun Wang and Zhen-He Zhou
Funding Agency and Grant Number	Funding Agency Grant Number Wuxi Taihu Talent Project WXTTP2021
Corresponding Author	Zhen-He Zhou, Chief Physician, MD, PhD, 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
Key Words	Schizophrenia; Conscious access; Unconscious processing; Neural mechanisms; Circuit basis
Core Tip	Schizophrenia features a stage-dependent dissociation between conscious and unconscious processing, challenging the simple preserved-implicit vs impaired-explicit dichotomy. While basic subliminal extraction often remains intact, patients exhibit profound deficits in preattentive sensory gating, mismatch negativity, late-stage conscious access, and metacognitive self-evaluation. These abnormalities stem from disrupted large-scale neural synchronization, thalamocortical dysconnectivity, and impaired predictive coding. By mapping these specific circuit-level dysfunctions, this review provides a mechanistic framework linking foundational sensory deficits to clinical psychotic phenomenology, highlighting novel targets for transdiagnostic neuromodulation.
Citation	Zhang JZ, Wang TT, Zhang J, Wang XY, Liu XH, Wang J, Zhou ZH. Neural mechanisms and circuit foundations of conscious and unconscious dysfunction in schizophrenia. World J Psychiatry 2026; In press DOI: https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.120999
PDF	120999-in-press.pdf

Received	2026-03-13 02:10
Peer-Review Started	2026-03-13 02:10
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-04-10 06:12
Return for Revision	2026-04-10 06:12
Revised	2026-05-02 12:00
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-06-26 02:16
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-06-26 05:34
Articles in Press	2026-06-26 05:34
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2220-3206 (online)
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Copyright	©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
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