Abnormal brain response during the auditory emotional processing in schizophrenic patients with chronic auditory hallucinations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Few neuroimaging studies have been conducted regarding clinical associations between auditory hallucinations (AHs) and affective disturbances in patients with schizophrenia. This study aimed to elucidate the neurobiological basis of emotional disturbances in schizophrenic patients with persisting AHs.

METHODS: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the cortical responsiveness during the processing of laughing and crying sounds was measured and compared between 14 hallucinating schizophrenic patients, 14 nonhallucinating schizophrenic patients and 28 normal controls.

RESULTS: The hallucinating patients showed differential neural activities in various areas including the amygdala, the hippocampus, the cingulate, the prefrontal cortex, and the parietal cortex, compared with the nonhallucinating patients and the normal controls. In particular, compared with the nonhallucinators, the hallucinators revealed reduced activation in the left amygdala and the bilateral hippocampus during the processing of crying sounds.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the persistence of AHs in schizophrenia may induce functional disturbances of the emotion-related interconnected neural networks, including reduced responsiveness in the amygdala and hippocampus to negative stimuli.

만성적인 환청을 겪는 조현병 환자에서 정서 처리의 이상이 뇌에서 어떻게 나타나는지를 살핀 연구입니다. 환청이 있는 조현병 환자, 환청이 없는 조현병 환자, 건강한 대조군이 웃음소리와 울음소리를 듣는 동안 fMRI로 대뇌피질의 반응을 비교했습니다. 환청이 있는 환자들은 편도체, 해마, 대상피질, 전전두피질, 두정피질 등 여러 영역에서 다른 두 집단과 다른 활동을 보였고, 특히 울음소리를 들을 때 좌측 편도체와 양측 해마의 활성이 환청이 없는 환자보다 낮았습니다. 이는 환청이 지속되면 정서를 담당하는 뇌 연결망의 기능이 흔들려 부정적 자극에 대한 편도체와 해마의 반응이 둔해질 수 있음을 시사합니다.