title: Engagement of brain areas implicated in processing inner speech in people with auditory hallucinations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The neurocognitive basis of auditory hallucinations is unclear, but there is increasing evidence implicating abnormalities in processing inner speech. Previous studies have shown that people with schizophrenia who were prone to auditory hallucinations demonstrated attenuated activation of brain areas during the monitoring of inner speech.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether the same pattern of functional abnormalities would be evident as the rate of inner speech production was varied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight people with schizophrenia who had a history of prominent auditory hallucinations and eight control participants were studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging while the rate of inner speech generation was varied experimentally.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When the rate of inner speech generation was increased, the participants with schizophrenia showed a relatively attenuated response in the right temporal, parietal, parahippocampal and cerebellar cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In people with schizophrenia who are prone to auditory hallucinations, increasing the demands on the processing of inner speech is associated with attenuated engagement of the brain areas implicated in verbal self-monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry, Denmark Hill, London, UK. s.shergill@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sukhwinder S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Shergill
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Brammer
authors.forename: Rimmei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Steven C R
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Robin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Philip K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: McGuire
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001308:Auditory Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors