Common mechanisms of auditory hallucinations-perfusion studies in epilepsy
Martinus Hauf1, Roland Wiest, Kaspar Schindler
1Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Auditory hallucinations (AH) occur in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. In psychosis, increased neuronal activity in the primary auditory cortex (PAC) contributes to AH. We investigated functional neuroanatomy of epileptic hallucinations by measuring cerebral perfusion in three patients with AH during simple partial status epilepticus. Hyperperfusion in the temporal lobe covering the PAC occurred in all patients. Our perfusion data support the hypothesis of PAC being a constituting element in the genesis of AH independent of their aetiology.
