Rubber voice illusion exposed neural correlates of voice perception and vocal adaptation across the continuum of psychosis
Scientific Reports January 8, 2026 Suong Welp, Andrea Hildelbrandt, David A. Magezi et al.
The Rubber Voice Illusion, an auditory analogue of the Rubber Hand Illusion, causes speakers to momentarily adopt a stranger’s time-locked voice as self-generated. In 60 healthy adults, only the congruent stranger voice evoked a sense of Ownership and Agency, along with an upward pitch shift toward the stranger’s voice, indicating voice adaptation. Neurophysiologically, speaking-induced suppression was replicated and was significantly smaller in participants scoring high on the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory. In controls, greater pitch shift correlated with stronger neural suppression, suggesting a functioning self-suppression mechanism; in high-schizotypy individuals, the relationship reversed, showing reduced suppression despite pitch shifting, indicating decoupling between motor output and sensory prediction.