The cognitive neuropsychiatry of auditory verbal hallucinations: an overview.
BACKGROUND
The cognitive neuropsychiatric approach to auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) attempts to explain the phenomena in cognitive or information-processing terms and ultimately their brain bases.


METHODS
A narrative review of the literature and an overview of this special issue of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry.


RESULTS
First, an operational definition of AVHs is offered. Next, clues to etiology are derived from a detailed consideration of the clinical phenomenology of "voices", their form and content. Functional and structural neuroimaging studies suggest the importance of left-side language areas in the generation/perception of AVHs.


CONCLUSIONS
Existing cognitive neuropsychiatric models provide a useful framework for the understanding of AVHs. However, data need to be applied more specifically to these models so that they may be refined.
David
Anthony S
AS
Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. a.david@iop.kcl.ac.uk