Introduction and objective: This work integrates findings from functional connectivity and phenomenological psychopathology to answer the question: “Is there a relationship between disturbed implicit and explicit temporal experience and impaired interaction within the triple network in schizophrenia patients?”, proposing a hypothesis on schizophrenia in terms of a lack of synchrony disrupting the constitution of selfhood. Materials and methods: Five patients with schizophrenia (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, PANSS score ≥40) and five healthy controls were scanned (resting-state fMRI) during two trials, each lasting 6 minutes and 34 seconds. In the first trial, participants were asked to keep their eyes closed, and no stimulus was presented. In the second, a digital clock was displayed on the screen. Results: A two-sample t-test was applied to compare the two groups, revealing caudate and pallidum activity associated with explicit temporal experience (p < 0.01), confirmed by research on the basal ganglia and their involvement in governing the temporal structure for movement and cognition. The activity associated with implicit temporal experience showed no significant statistical differences (p < 0.05, p < 0.001). There was a loss of competition between the SAL/DMN and the CEN/Insula; instead, there was an all-time activation of the DMN and coactivation with the SAL (including the Insula), as reported in earlier research. Conclusions: The findings support grounding the notion of selfhood in temporal experience. The limitations and implications of the study are also considered.

schizophrenia, temporality, triple network, lived time, phenomenological psychopathology