Auditory verbal hallucinations reflect stable auditory attention deficits: a prospective study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in psychosis correlate with reduced verbal auditory attention.
• It remains unclear if this is due to ongoing AVH or a stable cognitive vulnerability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate auditory attention in patients with acute psychosis with and without AVH.
• To determine if auditory attention deficits persist after AVH treatment.

Main Methods:

• Fifty patients with acute psychosis were assessed at baseline and 3 months later.
• A dichotic listening test with attention instructions was administered.
• Patients were grouped based on frequent (n=33) versus non-frequent (n=17) AVH at baseline.

Main Results:

• A significant interaction was found between AVH group and attention instruction.
• Patients with frequent AVH demonstrated impaired auditory attention control compared to the non-frequent group.

Conclusions:

• Impaired auditory attention in patients with frequent AVH persists 3 months after treatment.
• This suggests a stable cognitive vulnerability factor associated with experiencing AVH.