Brain activity during a word game, illustrating the potential for diagnosing schizophrenia.

Unlocking the Schizophrenia Puzzle: How Word Games and Brain Scans Could Change Everything

Rhea Morgan in Health & Wellness November 2025 • 5 min read.

"New insights into brain activity during simple word tasks offer a promising approach to diagnosing and predicting outcomes for schizophrenia patients."

Schizophrenia, a complex and often misunderstood mental disorder, affects millions worldwide. Characterized by a range of symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive impairments, schizophrenia presents significant challenges for diagnosis and treatment. Traditional methods rely heavily on clinical observation and patient self-reporting, which can be subjective and inconsistent. This highlights the urgent need for objective, reliable tools to aid in the diagnosis and management of this condition.

In the quest to better understand and combat schizophrenia, researchers have increasingly turned to neuroimaging techniques. These tools allow scientists to peek inside the living brain, revealing patterns of activity and connectivity that differ between individuals with and without the disorder. One such technique, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), offers a non-invasive and relatively accessible way to monitor brain activity by measuring changes in oxygenated hemoglobin levels. This method has opened new avenues for exploring the neural underpinnings of schizophrenia and developing innovative diagnostic approaches.

Imagine a simple word game, like the classic “shiritori,” where players take turns saying words that begin with the last letter of the previous word. Now, picture scientists using this game to study the brains of individuals with schizophrenia. This is precisely what researchers at Kurume University in Japan have done, using NIRS to track brain activity during word production tasks. Their findings, published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, shed light on the unique neural signatures of schizophrenia and offer a glimpse into the future of mental health diagnostics.

Decoding Brain Activity: The Shiritori Experiment

Brain activity during a word game, illustrating the potential for diagnosing schizophrenia.

The Kurume University study involved 35 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 35 healthy control subjects. Participants engaged in a modified version of “shiritori,” where they had to generate animal nouns starting with the last character of a presented word. Simultaneously, a 44-channel NIRS system tracked changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels across their frontal and temporoparietal regions.

The results revealed a significant difference in brain activation patterns between the two groups. Schizophrenic patients exhibited smaller activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) compared to the healthy controls. This finding aligns with previous research highlighting hypofrontality, a reduction in PFC activity, as a characteristic feature of schizophrenia. Furthermore, the study uncovered a positive correlation between oxy-Hb changes in specific brain areas (PFC and inferior parietal area) and the severity of positive psychiatric symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions.

The implications of these findings are multifold:

Diagnostic potential: Hypofrontality, as measured by NIRS during word production tasks, could serve as a diagnostic aid for schizophrenia.
Predictive value: The relationship between brain activation and symptom scores may help predict functional outcomes in patients.
Personalized treatment: Understanding individual brain activation patterns could pave the way for tailored interventions targeting specific neural deficits.
Accessibility: NIRS offers a relatively affordable and portable alternative to other neuroimaging techniques, making it more accessible for widespread clinical use.

Dr. Ryo Fujiki, the lead researcher, noted that this study builds upon previous findings, suggesting that monitoring brain activity during cognitive tasks could provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of schizophrenia. The simplicity of the “shiritori” task makes it particularly appealing for clinical applications, as it requires minimal training and can be easily administered to patients with varying cognitive abilities. However, the researchers also emphasized that further studies are needed to validate these findings and explore the potential of NIRS in different populations and clinical settings.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Brain-Based Diagnostics

While the Kurume University study offers a promising glimpse into the future of schizophrenia diagnostics, it’s important to acknowledge certain limitations. The spatial resolution of NIRS is lower compared to other neuroimaging techniques like MRI. Additionally, factors such as medication and individual variability in brain structure can influence the results. Nevertheless, this research underscores the potential of combining simple cognitive tasks with neuroimaging to gain a more objective and nuanced understanding of mental disorders. As technology advances and our knowledge of the brain deepens, we can expect to see even more sophisticated brain-based diagnostics emerge, revolutionizing the way we diagnose and treat mental illness. This offers hope for earlier intervention, personalized treatment strategies, and ultimately, improved outcomes for individuals living with schizophrenia.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.2147/ndt.s73975, Alternate LINK

Title: Single Event-Related Changes In Cerebral Oxygenated Hemoglobin Using Word Game In&Amp;Nbsp;Schizophrenia

Journal: Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Authors: Ryo Fujiki, Kiichiro Morita, Mamoru Sato, Yuji Yamashita, Yusuke Kato, Yoshihisa Shoji, Yohei Ishii, Naohisa Uchimura

Published: 2014-12-01

Everything You Need To Know

Why is diagnosing schizophrenia so challenging, and what types of tools are being explored to improve diagnosis?

Schizophrenia presents diagnostic challenges due to its reliance on clinical observations and patient self-reporting, which can be subjective and inconsistent. The disorder is characterized by symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive impairments. Objective tools, such as neuroimaging techniques like near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), are needed to provide more reliable methods for diagnosis and management.

How did the 'shiritori' experiment at Kurume University utilize word games and brain scans to study schizophrenia?

The 'shiritori' experiment, conducted at Kurume University, used a modified version of the word game 'shiritori' along with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to study brain activity in schizophrenia patients. During the game, researchers tracked changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels in the participants' brains, specifically focusing on the frontal and temporoparietal regions. The study aimed to find unique neural signatures of schizophrenia by monitoring brain activity during word production tasks.

What specific differences in brain activity did the Kurume University study reveal between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls during the word game?

The Kurume University study found that schizophrenic patients exhibited smaller activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) compared to healthy controls, aligning with the concept of hypofrontality. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and inferior parietal area and the severity of positive psychiatric symptoms like hallucinations and delusions. These findings suggest that brain activity patterns during word tasks could be linked to the underlying mechanisms of schizophrenia.

What are the potential benefits of using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia?

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) holds promise as a diagnostic aid due to its ability to measure hypofrontality, or reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), during word production tasks. Monitoring brain activation and its correlation with symptom scores may help predict functional outcomes in patients. Personalized treatment can be developed by understanding individual brain activation patterns to target specific neural deficits. Finally, NIRS is relatively affordable and portable compared to other neuroimaging techniques, making it more accessible for widespread clinical use.

What are the limitations of using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for diagnosing schizophrenia, and how might future research address these limitations?

While the Kurume University study offers potential for schizophrenia diagnostics, it has limitations. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has lower spatial resolution than techniques like MRI. Factors such as medication and individual variability in brain structure can also influence results. Despite these limitations, combining cognitive tasks with neuroimaging provides a more objective understanding of mental disorders, which may lead to more sophisticated brain-based diagnostics and improved outcomes for individuals with schizophrenia.