The influence of stimulus detection on activation patterns during auditory hallucinations

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Neuroimaging studies show various cortical structures involved in auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH).
• Previous findings may be confounded by brain activity related to stimulus detection and motor responses.
• Differentiating AVH-specific activation from other cognitive processes is crucial for understanding its neural basis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify brain activation patterns specifically associated with auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH).
• To differentiate AVH-related neural activity from that of simple auditory stimulus detection.
• To inform the development of targeted focal treatment strategies for AVH.

Main Methods:

• Two neuroimaging meta-analyses were conducted comparing 10 AVH studies with 11 auditory stimulus detection studies.
• Random-effects activation likelihood estimation (ALE) using GingerALE was employed.
• Brain activation patterns were compared to identify commonalities and differences between AVH and stimulus detection.

Main Results:

• Specific AVH-related activation was observed in the claustrum, pulvinar, medial geniculate body, pyramis, culmen, putamen, insula, and several cortical gyri (parahippocampal, medial frontal, precentral, postcentral, superior temporal, right inferior frontal).
• The pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus and the left transverse temporal gyrus showed similar activation during both AVH and auditory stimulus detection.

Conclusions:

• Focal treatment strategies for AVH could target brain regions uniquely activated during AVH.
• The pars opercularis and transverse temporal gyrus may be involved in auditory processing rather than the direct experience of AVH.