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Advances in MRI studies on visual cortex abnormalities in major mental disorders
ZENG Xiaoliang  WANG Sanwang  HAN Yong  CUI Minghu 

Cite this article as ZENG X L, WANG S W, HAN Y, et al. Advances in MRI studies on visual cortex abnormalities in major mental disorders[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 121-129. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.013.


[Abstract] Major psychiatric disorders (MPD), including major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SZ), are characterized by high disability and recurrence rates. Their diagnosis and treatment remain challenging because of complex clinical manifestations, unclear pathophysiological mechanisms, and lack of reliable neuroimaging biomarkers. The visual cortex is not only responsible for visual information processing but also plays important roles in emotion regulation, cognitive processing, and other higher-order brain functions. Moreover, patients with MPD commonly exhibit impairments in visual perception and cognition, making the visual cortex an increasingly important focus of neuroimaging research in psychiatric disorders. However, current studies are limited by relatively small sample sizes, predominantly cross-sectional designs, and considerable methodological heterogeneity. Future large-scale, multicenter, longitudinal, and transdiagnostic studies integrating multimodal MRI and neuromodulation techniques are warranted to further elucidate the neuropathological mechanisms underlying visual cortex abnormalities and facilitate their clinical translation. This review summarizes recent MRI studies on visual cortex abnormalities in MPD and compares the shared and disorder-specific characteristics of major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder from a transdiagnostic perspective, with the aim of providing a reference for further elucidating the neuropathological mechanisms of MPD and exploring visual cortex-related neuroimaging biomarkers and neuromodulation targets.
[Keywords] visual cortex；severe mental illness；major depressive disorder；magnetic resonance imaging；bipolar disorder；schizophrenia；pathophysiology

ZENG Xiaoliang1, 2   WANG Sanwang3   HAN Yong4   CUI Minghu1, 2*  

1 Department of Psychology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Binzhou 256603, China

2 School of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Shandong Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Yantai 264000, China

3 Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing 100191, China

4 Henan Key Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453002, China

Corresponding author: CUI M H, E-mail: 825724247@qq.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-04-02
Accepted  2026-07-10
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.013
Cite this article as ZENG X L, WANG S W, HAN Y, et al. Advances in MRI studies on visual cortex abnormalities in major mental disorders[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 121-129. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.013.

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