Auditory verbal hallucinations and cognitive functioning in healthy individuals

Abstract

Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are a characteristic symptom in schizophrenia, and also occur in the general, non-clinical population. In schizophrenia patients, several specific cognitive deficits, such as in speech processing, working memory, source memory, attention, inhibition, episodic memory and self-monitoring have been associated with auditory verbal hallucinations. Such associations are interesting, as they may identify specific cognitive traits that constitute a predisposition for AVH. However, it is difficult to disentangle a specific relation with AVH in patients with schizophrenia, as so many other factors can affect the performance on cognitive tests. Examining the cognitive profile of healthy individuals experiencing AVH may reveal a more direct association between AVH and aberrant cognitive functioning in a specific domain. For the current study, performance in executive functioning, memory (both short- and long-term), processing speed, spatial ability, lexical access, abstract reasoning, language and intelligence performance was compared between 101 healthy individuals with AVH and 101 healthy controls, matched for gender, age, handedness and education. Although performance of both groups was within the normal range, not clinically impaired, significant differences between the groups were found in the verbal domain as well as in executive functioning. Performance on all other cognitive domains was similar in both groups. The predisposition to experience AVH is associated with lower performance in executive functioning and aberrant language performance. This association might be related to difficulties in the inhibition of irrelevant verbal information.

Varieties of Voice-Hearing: Psychics and the Psychosis Continuum

“…Non-help-seeking voice-hearers have relatively intact verbal and executive functioning, 19 though the neural circuitry engaged during voice hearing experiences appears to be broadly similar. 20 Numerous studies have highlighted important differences in the emotional valence and content of voice experiences, as well as the explanatory schema evoked.…”

Letter to the Editor: Childhood trauma as a risk factor for psychosis: the confounding role of cognitive functioning

“…Childhood trauma fully explained the previously observed association between reduced verbal inhibition and nonclinical psychotic features (Daalman et al 2011), as group was no longer a significant predictor for Stroop interference when adding CTQ-SF score ( Table 1). Childhood trauma also accounted for the association between non-clinical psychotic symptoms and reduced working memory.…”

“…We included 101 non-clinical individuals with psychotic experiences (auditory verbal hallucinations) and 101 controls (selection procedures and inclusion criteria described previously; Daalman et al 2011Daalman et al , 2012. Participants did not meet criteria for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) diagnosis, yet depression in remission was allowed.…”

“…Participants did not meet criteria for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) diagnosis, yet depression in remission was allowed. Neuropsychological assessment included several cognitive domains (Daalman et al 2011). Childhood trauma was rated using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF; Bernstein et al 2003).…”

“…Childhood trauma was rated using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF; Bernstein et al 2003). Both groups were similar with regard to gender, age, handedness and education (Daalman et al 2011).…”