An Exploratory Analysis of Voice Hearing in Chronic PTSD: Potential Associated Mechanisms

Abstract

This research investigated auditory hallucinations (AH) in a sample with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and examined dissociation and thought suppression as potential associated mechanisms. In all, 40 individuals with PTSD were assessed on the hallucinations subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and on measures of dissociation and thought suppression. Half of the sample reported AH (n = 20, 50%). Those reporting AH had higher general and pathological dissociation scores but did not differ on thought suppression or PTSD symptom severity. Results suggest that (a) AH in chronic PTSD is not a rare phenomenon, (b) dissociation is significantly related to AH, and (c) dissociation may be a potential mediating mechanism for AH in PTSD.

Decreased integrity of the fronto-temporal fibers of the left inferior occipito-frontal fasciculus associated with auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia

“…However, this argument is not empirically supported (Hardy et al, 2005;Anketell et al, 2010;Corstens and Longden, 2013), as we address in Section "Trauma, SZ-AVH, and PTSD-AVH. "…”

“…They are also found with notable regularity in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Butler et al, 1996;Anketell et al, 2010;Brewin and Patel, 2010). In the most studied sub-group of people with PTSD, military veterans, recent studies have reported an AVH prevalence ranging from 50-67% (Holmes and Tinnin, 1995;Anketell et al, 2010;Brewin and Patel, 2010).…”

“…Anketell et al (2010) found 40% of PTSD patients directly related their voices to past experiences of abuse or trauma. For example, one patient who had been physically assaulted by two men subsequently heard the voices of two men saying, "We'll kill you."…”

“…A more recent study by Corstens and Longden (2013) looked not just at trauma in relation to AVH-content, but at a wider range of emotionally overwhelming events covering a range of social and emotional problems. This was done with 100 people who heard voices (80% of who had received a (Anketell et al, 2010;Brewin and Patel, 2010) Present, more common than pleasant voices (Nayani and David, 1996;Corstens and Longden, 2013;McCarthy-Jones et al, 2014) Pleasant voices Present, but less common than negative voices (Anketell et al, 2010;Brewin and Patel, 2010) Present, but less common than negative voices (Nayani and David, 1996;Corstens and Longden, 2013;McCarthy-Jones et al, 2014) Voices issue commands? Yes (Scott et al, 2007;Anketell et al, 2010) Y e s ( Nayani and David, 1996;Corstens and Longden, 2013;McCarthy-Jones et al, 2014) Commands to hurt self Yes (Anketell et al, 2010) Y e s ( Kent and Wahass, 1996) Link to trauma Only 40% linked voices to earlier traumas (Anketell et al, 2010) Some but not all linked to trauma (Hardy et al, 2005;Corstens and Longden, 2013) Location Mostly internally located, but some external and some in both locations (Scott et al, 2007;Anketell et al, 2010) Approximately equal mix between internal, external, and both ( Unclear voices In addition to clear content, may include "garbled voices" (Hamner et al, 2000) In addition to clear content, may include "nonsense voices" (McCarthy-Jones et al, 2014) Experienced as manifestation of own thoughts Present in some (Brewin and Patel, 2010) Present in some (McCarthy-Jones et al, 2014) Gender Voices are mainly male (Brewin and Patel, 2010) Voices are mainly male (Corstens and Longden, 2013;…”

Hearing voices, dissociation, and the self: A functional-analytic perspective

“…Specifically, Varese, Barkus et al (2012) found that dissociation precedes voice onset, and mediates the relationship between sexual abuse and voice-proneness (see also Anketell et al, 2010;Moskowitz & Corstens, 2007;Moskowitz, Read, Farrelly, Rudegeair, & Williams, 2009).…”