The Neurobiology of Auditory Hallucinations: Characterisation of dysfunction within a neural circuitry model.

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This is a highly innovative research proposal which is based on years of extensive research by our group. Auditory hallucinations are a prominent and potentially disabling symptom of psychosis, however it is extremely difficult to study them scientifically. Past research by our group (and other groups internationally) has indicated that an extensive network in the brain is activated whenever auditory hallucinations occur, but the source of this brain activity is unclear. It was thought that the source may be the same brain circuits that are involved in generating inner speech or monitoring it, but our past research has ruled out these possibilities. Instead, our recent work suggests that auditory hallucinations may be associated with poorly functioning connections within central auditory processing circuits, specifically between left and right auditory association cortical regions. We conceptualise hallucinations as an abnormal and involuntary form of memory retrieval consequent to this dysfunction. Our study will pioneer methods of measuring connectivity in the brain circuits identified in our model, using a combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques in tandem with tests of central auditory processing. We believe that sufferers may benefit from understanding the physical processes which cause hallucinations. We also believe that a better understanding of hallucinations may lead to a better understanding of schizophrenia and the psychoses, which may in turn help in the development of better ways of treating these illnesses.