BackgroundEvidence suggests that auditory hallucinations may result from abnormally
enhanced auditory sensitivity.AimsTo investigate whether there is an auditory processing bias in healthy
individuals who are prone to experiencing auditory hallucinations.MethodTwo hundred healthy volunteers performed a temporal order judgement task
in which they determined whether an auditory or a visual stimulus came
first under conditions of directed attention (‘attend-auditory’ and
‘attend-visual’ conditions). The Launay–Slade Hallucination Scale was
used to divide the sample into high and low hallucination-proneness
groups.ResultsThe high hallucination-proneness group exhibited a reduced sensitivity to
auditory stimuli under the attend-auditory condition. By contrast,
attention-directed visual sensitivity did not differ significantly
between groups.ConclusionsHealthy individuals prone to hallucinatory experiences may possess a bias
in attention towards internal auditory stimuli at the expense of external
sounds. Interventions involving the redistribution of attentional
resources would have therapeutic benefit in patients experiencing
auditory hallucinations.
Dopaminergic Function in the Psychosis Spectrum: An [18F]-DOPA Imaging Study in Healthy Individuals With Auditory Hallucinations