Auditory hallucinations: Insights and questions from neuroimaging

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• The human brain can hallucinate, but auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are rare outside severe neuropsychiatric conditions like schizophrenia.
• Neuroimaging studies have explored the neural basis of AVHs, yet a comprehensive model explaining their perception without external stimuli is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the clinical phenomenology of AVHs.
• To identify putative brain systems involved in AVH pathogenesis using neuroimaging.
• To assess the contributions and limitations of neuroimaging in bridging neuroscience and phenomenology.

Main Methods:

• A selective literature review was conducted.
• Focus areas included clinical phenomenology, neuroimaging findings on brain systems, and the integration of neuroscience and phenomenology.

Main Results:

• Several functional domains are implicated in AVH genesis: hearing/language, reality monitoring, attention/salience, emotion, memory, volition/self-monitoring, and impulse control.
• These domains map onto neural systems overlapping with brain regions activated during AVH experiences.

Conclusions:

• Future neuroimaging research should investigate the component processes underlying the perception of AVHs as real.
• Understanding these processes is crucial for developing a more complete model of AVH pathogenesis.