Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Impact of Emotional Prosodies on Voice Recognition and Perception
Published on: August 9, 2024
A Cognitive Neuroscience View of Voice-Processing Abnormalities in Schizophrenia: A Window into Auditory Verbal
Tatiana Conde1, Oscar F Gonçalves, Ana P Pinheiro
1From the Neuropsychophysiology Laboratory, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho; Department of Counseling and Applied Educational Psychology, Northeastern University (Dr. Gonçalves); Harvard Medical School (Dr. Pinheiro); Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon (Dr. Pinheiro); Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton, MA (Dr. Pinheiro).
Abstract:
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a core symptom of schizophrenia. Like "real" voices, AVH carry a rich amount of linguistic and paralinguistic cues that convey not only speech, but also affect and identity, information. Disturbed processing of voice identity, affective, and speech information has been reported in patients with schizophrenia. More recent evidence has suggested a link between voice-processing abnormalities and specific clinical symptoms of schizophrenia, especially AVH. It is still not well understood, however, to what extent these dimensions are impaired and how abnormalities in these processes might contribute to AVH. In this review, we consider behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological data to investigate the speech, identity, and affective dimensions of voice processing in schizophrenia, and we discuss how abnormalities in these processes might help to elucidate the mechanisms underlying specific phenomenological features of AVH. Schizophrenia patients exhibit behavioral and neural disturbances in the three dimensions of voice processing. Evidence suggesting a role of dysfunctional voice processing in AVH seems to be stronger for the identity and speech dimensions than for the affective domain.
More Related Videos
11:15fMRI Mapping of Brain Activity Associated with the Vocal Production of Consonant and Dissonant Intervals
Published on: May 23, 2017
07:52Author Spotlight: Investigating Vocal Information Representation in Small Primates and Its Alteration by Psychiatric Disorders Using Noninvasive EEG
Published on: July 26, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Biological Causes of Schizophrenia
Genetic Factors in Schizophrenia
The genetic basis of schizophrenia is strongly supported by family and twin...
Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within...
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes...