Schizophrenia research in 2026: report from the annual meeting of the Schizophrenia International Research Society
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: SIRS 2026, held under the theme “Schizophrenia Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” brought together researchers, clinicians, and persons with lived experience to take stock of a field whose tools for measuring, predicting, and intervening in psychosis have expanded rapidly. Themes spanned artificial intelligence, automated speech analysis, retinal imaging, computational modelling, and novel psychosocial and pharmacological targets, with evidence that, individually, warrants cautious but serious attention and that, collectively, points toward a more mechanistically grounded psychiatry. A recurring call across the meeting was for rigorous external validation, equitable implementation, and sustained scrutiny of underlying assumptions, including whether existing diagnostic categories and treatment targets remain adequate. Some areas remained underworked relative to their importance, including translating basic neuroscience advances into questions relevant to patients and families, and the structural determinants of illness onset and treatment access. Perhaps the most significant development at SIRS 2026 was not any single scientific finding but the broadening of whose voices and experiences are treated as evidence worth taking seriously in this era of AI, a shift whose consolidation remains a question for the field as much as for any individual programme of work.
Source: Schizophrenia
Authors: Lena Palaniyappan, Boutheina Abassi, Fatme Abboud, Mohammed A. Alarabi, Maite Aramburu, Berat Arslan, Catherine V. Barnes-Scheufler, Annkathrin Böke, Linda Bryant, Patricio Carvajal-Paredes, Santiago Castiello de Obeso, Anson Kai Chun Chau, Lawrence Kin-hei Chung, Franciska de Beer, Giuseppe De Simone, Pedro Henrique Destro, Mona Dlikan, Chaimaa El Mouslih, Zhiqian Fang, Ramon Ferreira, Abigail Gee, Yohannes Gebreegziabher, Fernando Gonzales-Aste, Sean Halstead, Rui He, Héctor Hernández-Ruiz, Federica Iannotta, Samantha Johnstone, Merel Koster, Merridee Lefner, Camila Marcelino Loureiro, Xuemei Ma, Alessandra Martinelli, Gisela Mezquida, Mylene Moyal, Jennifer Murphy, Zui C. Narita, Soyolsaikhan Odkhuu, Pavo Orepic, Rafaella Ormond, María Ortuño, Kristoffer Panganiban, Inkyung Park, Mathilde Parisi, Gabriele Pezzullo, Finn Rabe, Upasana Ravinder, Qian Ren, Elif Sarisik, Pierfrancesco Sarti, Alex G. Segura, Pedro Henrique Minotto Serafim, Seo Ho Song, Erik Velez-Perez, Burcu Verim, Alban Voppel, Yuji Yamada
Institutions: Western University, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Hôpital Razi de La Manouba, Faculté de médecine de Tunis, Tunis El Manar University, King Saud University, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, Dokuz Eylül University, Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital Frankfurt, University of Cologne, University Hospital Cologne, King's College London, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Yale University, University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, University of Naples Federico II, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Debre Berhan University, Queensland Health, The University of Queensland, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Oregon Health & Science University, Universidade de São Paulo, Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer, Inserm, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Jeonbuk National University, University of Zurich, Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Universitat de Barcelona, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Seoul National University, New Generation University College, University Hospital Zurich, Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik Zürich, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard University, Ponce Health Sciences University, National Center Hospital of Neurology and Psychiatry
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,890
OpenAlex ID: W7222448484
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