Auditory Hallucinations and the Brain's Resting-State Networks: Findings and Methodological Observations.
In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the potential for alterations to the brain's resting-state networks (RSNs) to explain various kinds of psychopathology. RSNs provide an intriguing new explanatory framework for hallucinations, which can occur in different modalities and population groups, but which remain poorly understood. This collaboration from the International Consortium on Hallucination Research (ICHR) reports on the evidence linking resting-state alterations to auditory hallucinations (AH) and provides a critical appraisal of the methodological approaches used in this area. In the report, we describe findings from resting connectivity fMRI in AH (in schizophrenia and nonclinical individuals) and compare them with findings from neurophysiological research, structural MRI, and research on visual hallucinations (VH). In AH, various studies show resting connectivity differences in left-hemisphere auditory and language regions, as well as atypical interaction of the default mode network and RSNs linked to cognitive control and salience. As the latter are also evident in studies of VH, this points to a domain-general mechanism for hallucinations alongside modality-specific changes to RSNs in different sensory regions. However, we also observed high methodological heterogeneity in the current literature, affecting the ability to make clear comparisons between studies. To address this, we provide some methodological recommendations and options for future research on the resting state and hallucinations.
Psychology Department, Durham University, Durham, UK; benjamin.alderson-day@durham.ac.uk.
Ben
B
Alderson-Day
Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;
Kelly
K
Diederen
Psychology Department, Durham University, Durham, UK;
Charles
C
Fernyhough
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA;
Judith M
JM
Ford
New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY;
Guillermo
G
Horga
Max Planck Research Group for Neuroanatomy & Connectivity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany;
Daniel S
DS
Margulies
Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland;
Simon
S
McCarthy-Jones
Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics Research Unit, The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, ON, Canada;
Georg
G
Northoff
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA;
James M
JM
Shine
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA;
Jessica
J
Turner
Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;
Vincent
V
van de Ven
Center for Mindfulness, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA;
Remko
R
van Lutterveld
North Metro Health Service Mental Health, Graylands Health Campus, School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia;
Flavie
F
Waters
Univ Lille, CNRS (UMR 9193), SCALab & CHU Lille, Psychiatry dept. (CURE), Lille, France.
Renaud
R
Jardri
D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*
default mode network; fMRI; perception; psychosis; schizophrenia