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Ghosh CC, McVicar D, Davidson G, Shannon C, Armour C. Exploring the associations between auditory hallucinations and psychopathological experiences in 10,933 patient narratives: moving beyond diagnostic categories and surveys. BMC Psychiatry 2023; 23:307. [PMID: 37131149 PMCID: PMC10155450 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-04780-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous research suggests that auditory hallucinations are prevalent within both the clinical and general populations. Yet, we know little about how these phenomena are associated with other psychopathology symptoms and experiences. The current study aids investigations towards preventing, predicting and more effectively responding to such distressing occurrences. There have been substantial efforts in the literature to propose models of auditory hallucination and attempts to verify them. However, many of these studies used survey methods that restrict the person's responses to a set of pre-defined criteria or experiences and do not allow exploration of potential important other symptoms beyond them. This is the first study to explore the correlates of auditory hallucination using a qualitative dataset consisting of unrestricted responses of patients about their lived experiences with mental illness. METHOD The study used a dataset consisting of 10,933 narratives from patients diagnosed with mental illnesses. For analysis, the study used correlation on the text-based data. This approach is an alternative to the knowledge-based approach where experts manually read the narratives and infer the rules and relationships from the dataset. RESULT This study found at least 8 correlates of auditory hallucination (small correlation coefficients), with the unusual ones being "pain." The study also found that auditory hallucinations were independent of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours, and dissociation, in contrast with the literature. CONCLUSION This study presents an innovative approach to explore the possible associations between symptoms without the restrictions of (or outside the confines of) traditional diagnostic categories. The study exemplified this by finding the correlates of auditory hallucination. However, any other symptom or experience of interest can be studied similarly. Potential future directions of these findings are discussed in the context of mental healthcare screening and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Duncan McVicar
- Queen's Management School, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Gavin Davidson
- School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Ciaran Shannon
- IMPACT Research Centre, Northern Health and Social Care Trust, Antrim, UK
| | - Cherie Armour
- School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
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Rajanthiran L, Curtis G, Ayalde J, Orr K, Melvill-Smith P, Banerjee A, Schenk M, Wearne D. 'Is hearing believing?': A study of voices and beliefs in psychosis and trauma. Australas Psychiatry 2022; 30:547-551. [PMID: 35968743 DOI: 10.1177/10398562221106064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study compared voice characteristics and beliefs in participants diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with dissociation, schizophrenia (SCZ) and both diagnoses of SCZ and PTSD. The relationship between dissociation and voice beliefs was also assessed. METHOD We identified 56 participants meeting the diagnostic criteria for PTSD with dissociation, SCZ or both diagnoses (PTSD + SCZ) who also experienced auditory hallucinations. Measures included PTSD Symptoms Scales Interview (PSSI-5), Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scale (PSYRAT), Clinician Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS), Beliefs about Voices Questionnaire (BAVQ) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). RESULTS Beliefs about voices were similar across diagnostic groups. Participants with SCZ were more likely to attribute their voices to an external origin, and participants with dual diagnosis were less able to control their voices. The PTSD-only group scored higher in dissociation scores than either the SCZ-only or dual diagnosis group. Malevolent voice appraisals correlated with dissociation scores only in the dual diagnosis group. CONCLUSIONS This research supports the hypothesis that voice beliefs are similar across diagnoses of PTSD and SCZ. However, differences in voice characteristics, emotional responses and relationship to dissociation may need to be considered in the psychological management of voices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Guy Curtis
- School of Psychology, UWA, Perth, Western Australia
| | | | - Kenneth Orr
- 103905Marian Center, Perth, Western Australia
| | | | - Amit Banerjee
- Headspace Youth Early Psychosis Program, Perth, Western Australia
| | - Meta Schenk
- 103905Marian Center, Perth, Western Australia
| | - Deborah Wearne
- School of Medicine, University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth, Western Australia
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Volpato E, Cavalera C, Castelnuovo G, Molinari E, Pagnini F. The "common" experience of voice-hearing and its relationship with shame and guilt: a systematic review. BMC Psychiatry 2022; 22:281. [PMID: 35443637 PMCID: PMC9022353 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-022-03902-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (AVHs) having been long associated with mental illness, they represent a common experience also in the non-clinical population, yet do not exhibit distress or need for care. Shame and guilt are emotions related to one's perception of oneself and one's responsibility. As such, they direct our attention to aspects of AVHs that are under-researched and elusive, particularly about the status of voices as others, their social implications and the constitution and conceptualisation of the self. OBJECTIVES This paper aims to provide a systematic review of studies that investigated the relationship between auditory hallucinations, shame, and guilt in people without relevant signs of psychiatric issues. METHODS We searched studies reporting information about voices characteristics, the relationship between voices and hearers, hearer's reactions, and beliefs, paying peculiar attention to shame and guilt issues. Included papers were evaluated for risk of bias. RESULTS Eleven studies that explored the relationship between AVHs, shame and guilt, were extracted. Phenomenological, pragmatic, as well as neuropsychological features of hearing voices in non-clinical populations, allowed us to note a dynamic relationship and the constellation of subjective experiences that can occur. The role of guilt was characterized by few studies and mixed results, while shame was mainly common. CONCLUSIONS Due to the high heterogeneity detected and the scarce sources available, further studies should focus on both the aetiology and the bidirectional relationship between hearing voices, shame, and guilt in non-clinical people. This can be helpful in therapies for non-clinical populations who are distressed by their voices (e.g., psychotherapy), and for whom shame, and guilt may contribute to negative consequences such as isolation, anxiety or future depression. Moreover, it might favour the development and implication of different treatments considering emotion regulation, distress tolerance and interpersonal sensitivity on the clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. Volpato
- grid.8142.f0000 0001 0941 3192Present Address: Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy ,grid.418563.d0000 0001 1090 9021IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Milan, Italy
| | - C. Cavalera
- grid.8142.f0000 0001 0941 3192Present Address: Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy
| | - G. Castelnuovo
- grid.8142.f0000 0001 0941 3192Present Address: Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy ,grid.418224.90000 0004 1757 9530Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Psychology Research Laboratory , Verbania , Italy
| | - E. Molinari
- grid.8142.f0000 0001 0941 3192Present Address: Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy ,grid.418224.90000 0004 1757 9530Laboratory, Istituto Auxologico Italiano IRCCS, Milan, Italy
| | - F. Pagnini
- grid.8142.f0000 0001 0941 3192Present Address: Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milan, Italy ,grid.38142.3c000000041936754XDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA USA
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Pagella S, Deussing JM, Kopp-Scheinpflug C. Expression Patterns of the Neuropeptide Urocortin 3 and Its Receptor CRFR2 in the Mouse Central Auditory System. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:747472. [PMID: 34867212 PMCID: PMC8633543 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.747472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory systems have to be malleable to context-dependent modulations occurring over different time scales, in order to serve their evolutionary function of informing about the external world while also eliciting survival-promoting behaviors. Stress is a major context-dependent signal that can have fast and delayed effects on sensory systems, especially on the auditory system. Urocortin 3 (UCN3) is a member of the corticotropin-releasing factor family. As a neuropeptide, UCN3 regulates synaptic activity much faster than the classic steroid hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Moreover, due to the lack of synaptic re-uptake mechanisms, UCN3 can have more long-lasting and far-reaching effects. To date, a modest number of studies have reported the presence of UCN3 or its receptor CRFR2 in the auditory system, particularly in the cochlea and the superior olivary complex, and have highlighted the importance of this stress neuropeptide for protecting auditory function. However, a comprehensive map of all neurons synthesizing UCN3 or CRFR2 within the auditory pathway is lacking. Here, we utilize two reporter mouse lines to elucidate the expression patterns of UCN3 and CRFR2 in the auditory system. Additional immunolabelling enables further characterization of the neurons that synthesize UCN3 or CRFR2. Surprisingly, our results indicate that within the auditory system, UCN3 is expressed predominantly in principal cells, whereas CRFR2 expression is strongest in non-principal, presumably multisensory, cell types. Based on the presence or absence of overlap between UCN3 and CRFR2 labeling, our data suggest unusual modes of neuromodulation by UCN3, involving volume transmission and autocrine signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Pagella
- Division of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Jan M Deussing
- Research Group Molecular Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Conny Kopp-Scheinpflug
- Division of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
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Dubovsky SL, Ghosh BM, Serotte JC, Cranwell V. Psychotic Depression: Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, and Treatment. PSYCHOTHERAPY AND PSYCHOSOMATICS 2021; 90:160-177. [PMID: 33166960 DOI: 10.1159/000511348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Psychotic depression was initially considered to be at one end of a continuum of severity of major depression. Subsequent experience demonstrated that psychosis is an independent trait that may accompany mood disorders of varying severity. While much has been learned about the impact of severe mood congruent delusions and hallucinations on the course and treatment response of depression, less is known about fleeting or mild psychosis, mood incongruent features, or psychotic symptoms that reflect traumatic experiences. Acute treatment of psychotic unipolar depression generally involves the combination of an antidepressant and an antipsychotic drug or electroconvulsive therapy. There is inadequate information about maintenance treatment of unipolar psychotic depression and acute and chronic treatment of psychotic bipolar disorder. Decision-making therefore still must rely in part on clinical experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Dubovsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA, .,Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Colorado, USA,
| | - Biswarup M Ghosh
- Department of Psychiatry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Jordan C Serotte
- Department of Psychiatry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Victoria Cranwell
- Department of Psychiatry, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
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Marek A. [Auditory phenomena as differential diagnostics to tinnitus]. Laryngorhinootologie 2021; 100:712-719. [PMID: 34461649 DOI: 10.1055/a-1516-4720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION In the auditory system, subjective tinnitus is known as phantom perception. Humans also report illusionary misperceptions of real listening impressions and complex scene-like acoustic fantasies without external hearing stimulus. The exact pathophysiological relationships of the auditory phenomena are still unclear. Important comorbidities include hearing loss, brain disease and mental disorders. METHODS In a literature search in the PubMed database, publications were evaluated until March 2021 on the search terms tinnitus, palinacousis, pareidolia, synesthesia, aura, acoustic hallucination with regard to similarities and differences to subjective tinnitus. RESULTS Subjective tinnitus can occur together with other auditory phenomena in an individual. Diagnostically important is the relationship between hearing loss and tinnitus as well as between tinnitus and hearing loss in the corresponding frequency range. With hearing loss, other auditory phenomena may occur. CONCLUSION The occurrence of various auditory phenomena simultaneously in a person suggests an auditory perceptual continuum with common physiological processing structures. People with hearing loss should be asked about the various auditory phenomena. For all auditory phenomena, audiometric examination should be part of the diagnostic standard.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Marek
- HNO-Universitätsklinik Bochum, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Medizinische Fakultät, Bochum, Germany
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Reply to Clifford, G., Dalgleish, T. and Hitchcock, C., 2018. Prevalence of auditory pseudohallucinations in adult survivors of physical and sexual trauma with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Behaviour research and therapy, 111, pp.113-118. Behav Res Ther 2021; 137:103789. [PMID: 33387872 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Hallucinations: diagnosis, neurobiology and clinical management. Int Clin Psychopharmacol 2020; 35:293-299. [PMID: 32324611 DOI: 10.1097/yic.0000000000000313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Hallucinations are important diagnostic symptoms in schizophrenia, but also occur in other medical and neuropsychiatric conditions. Not all patients with hallucinations are psychotic. There has been a surge of interest in the topic of hallucinations, as new research data have begun to reveal their neurobiology. Hallucinogenic molecules may also serve as new scaffolds for the development of new psychotropic drugs. We searched and reviewed recent literature, focusing on the refinement of clinical management, which was inspired by new data regarding the neurobiology of hallucination subtypes. We concluded that the successful management of hallucinations depends on accurate differential diagnosis to identify subtypes, which would then determine the most appropriate treatment.
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Mustafa FA. Pseudohallucinations as functional cognitive disorders. Lancet Psychiatry 2020; 7:230. [PMID: 32087798 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(19)30517-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Feras Ali Mustafa
- Department of Liaison Psychiatry, Northampton General Hospital, Northampton NN1 5BP, UK.
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Shinn AK, Wolff JD, Hwang M, Lebois LAM, Robinson MA, Winternitz SR, Öngür D, Ressler KJ, Kaufman ML. Assessing Voice Hearing in Trauma Spectrum Disorders: A Comparison of Two Measures and a Review of the Literature. Front Psychiatry 2020; 10:1011. [PMID: 32153431 PMCID: PMC7050446 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.01011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Voice hearing (VH) can occur in trauma spectrum disorders (TSD) such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative disorders. However, previous estimates of VH among individuals with TSD vary widely. In this study, we sought to better characterize the rate and phenomenology of VH in a sample of 70 women with TSD related to childhood abuse who were receiving care in a specialized trauma program. We compared the rate of VH within our sample using two different measures: 1) the auditory hallucination (AH) item in the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR (SCID), and 2) the thirteen questions involving VH in the Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID), a self-report questionnaire that comprehensively assesses pathological dissociation. We found that 45.7% of our sample met threshold for SCID AH, while 91.4% met criteria for MID VH. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses showed that while SCID AH and MID VH items have greater than chance agreement, the strength of agreement is only moderate, suggesting that SCID and MID VH items measure related but not identical constructs. Thirty-two patients met criteria for both SCID AH and at least one MID VH item ("unequivocal VH"), 32 for at least one MID VH item but not SCID AH ("ambiguous VH"), and 6 met criteria for neither ("unequivocal non-VH"). Relative to the ambiguous VH group, the unequivocal VH group had higher dissociation scores for child voices, and higher mean frequencies for child voices and Schneiderian voices. Our findings suggest that VH in women with TSD related to childhood abuse is common, but that the rate of VH depends on how the question is asked. We review prior studies examining AH and/or VH in TSD, focusing on the measures used to ascertain these experiences, and conclude that our two estimates are consistent with previous studies that used comparable instruments and patient samples. Our results add to growing evidence that VH-an experience typically considered psychotic or psychotic-like-is not equivalent to having a psychotic disorder. Instruments that assess VH apart from psychotic disorders and that capture their multidimensional nature may improve identification of VH, especially among patients with non-psychotic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann K. Shinn
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Jonathan D. Wolff
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Melissa Hwang
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Lauren A. M. Lebois
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
- Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Mathew A. Robinson
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Sherry R. Winternitz
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Dost Öngür
- Psychotic Disorders Division, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Kerry J. Ressler
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Neurobiology of Fear Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
| | - Milissa L. Kaufman
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, United States
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