Auditory Hallucinations and the Temporal Cortical Response to Speech in Schizophrenia: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Abstract

M ost structural imaging studies in schizophrenia emphasize left-sided temporal lobe abnormalities in addition to more diffuse brain abnormalities (1-3). The association between reduced left temporal lobe volume and hallucinations (4, 5) and theories linking temporal lobe asymmetry with the illness (6) have rekindled interest in abnormal asymmetry of temporal lobe structures in schizophrenia. One such region is the planum temporale, part of the superior temporal gyrus, which is usually larger on the left and which has a critical role in supporting language functions in humans (7). Evidence both for and against reduction of left planum temporale size (and hence reduced asymmetry) in schizophrenia has been presented (8, 9). One possible explanation for this inconsistency is that a left-sided decrease in the volume of temporal lobe language areas is confined to schizophrenic patients who have a strong predisposition to auditory hallucinations. This decrease could account for a number of alterations in functional asymmetry in hallucination-prone schizophrenic indiPreliminary results presented at

fMRI study of language activation in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and in individuals genetically at high risk

“…This value can clearly better reflect the level of the neuronal activity than a binary representation (active or not by a threshold). Nevertheless, the relative increase of activity in the right hemisphere found in the current study in schizophrenia is consistent with finding of previous fMRI studies (Crow, 2000;Curtis et al, 1998;Menon et al, 2001;Ngan et al, 2003;Sommer et al, 2001Sommer et al, , 2003Woodruff et al, 1997), and adds to the increasing literature showing altered patterns of language activations and thus changes in the normal lateralization in schizophrenia. These functional MRI studies suggest that functional abnormalities in the brain regions associated with language processing in patients with schizophrenia may be related to the underlying pathological basis for schizophrenia, as previously suggested (Crow, 1998;DeLisi, 2001;Morey et al, 2005).…”

“…Several functional MRI studies have revealed abnormal language related brain activation patterns in patients with schizophrenia (Table 1). Studies employing either language listening tasks or verbal fluency tasks have reported that patients with schizophrenia exhibited reduced left hemisphere dominant activation or reversed language dominance (Curtis et al, 1998;Kiehl & Liddle, 2001;Kircher et al, 2001;Menon et al, 2001;Ngan et al, 2003;Sommer et al, 2001Sommer et al, , 2003Woodruff et al, 1997). While the findings varied across studies, overall, they suggest that structural and functional abnormalities exist in the brain regions associated with language processing in individuals with schizophrenia.…”

Auditory processing abnormalities in schizotypal personality disorder: An fMRI experiment using tones of deviant pitch and duration

“…Our laboratory previously demonstrated thought disorder correlating with left STG volumes in female SPD subjects (Dickey et al, 2003). Similarly, in schizophrenic subjects, correlations have been shown between thought disorder and hallucinations with bilateral measures of volume and function of temporal lobe regions (Shenton et al, 1992;Dierks et al, 1999;Kircher et al, 2001;Barta et al, 1990;Woodruff et al, 1997). In this report, however, the correlation with odd speech occurred with right-sided activation.…”

Aberrant localization of synchronous hemodynamic activity in auditory cortex reliably characterizes schizophrenia

“…Woodruff et al (1997) found that right-handed patients with schizophrenia (both with and without a history of hallucinations) showed excess activation in right middle temporal gyrus and less fMRI activation in left posterior auditory cortex while listening to speech, compared with normal control subjects. Results of a single photon emission computed tomography study suggested reduced right ear (left hemisphere) advantage for dichotic word perception in schizophrenia and also that right temporal lobe over-activity and positive symptoms are related (Malaspina et al 2000).…”

“…Functional brain disturbances in patients with schizophrenia have been studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) (Lennox et al 1999;Woodruff et al 1997). It has been demonstrated that auditory cortex shows abnormal fMRI activity in speech-related areas (Penfeld and Perot 1963).…”