Dopaminergic function in the psychosis spectrum: an [18F]-DOPA imaging study in healthy individuals with auditory hallucinations.
Oliver Howes, Paul Shotbolt, Michael Bloomfield, Kirstin Daalman, Arsime Demjaha, Kelly Diederen, Kemal Ibrahim, Euitae Kim, Philip Mcguire, René S. Kahn, Iris E C Sommer
Schizophrenia Bulletin January 26, 2012 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbr195 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 32 |
| Population | 16 healthy individuals with frequent persistent auditory verbal hallucinations and 16 matched healthy controls |
| Keywords | Brain Neostriatum Humans Hallucinations Fluorine radioisotopes Dopamine Positron-emission tomography Case-control studies Image processing, computer-assisted Adult Middle aged Female Healthy volunteers Schizophrenia Symptom Aetiology PET Neurochemistry Subclinical Psychosis continuum |
| Citations | 94 |
| Key findings | Dopamine synthesis capacity in the striatum and its functional subdivisions did not differ significantly between healthy people with frequent persistent auditory verbal hallucinations and matched controls, and no relationship was found between subclinical psychotic symptom severity or schizotypal traits and dopamine synthesis capacity in the hallucinating group. The authors conclude that altered dopamine synthesis capacity is unlikely to underlie subclinical hallucinations, suggesting distinctions at the neurobiological level despite a possible phenomenological psychosis continuum. |
Abstract
Background: The psychosis phenotype appears to exist in the population as a continuum, but it is not clear if subclinical psychotic symptoms and psychotic disorders share the same neurobiology. We investigated whether the dopaminergic dysfunction seen in psychotic disorders is also present in healthy, well-functioning people with hallucinations.
Methods: We compared dopamine synthesis capacity (using 6-[(18)F]fluoro-L-DOPA [[(18)F]-DOPA] positron emission tomography imaging) in 16 healthy individuals with frequent persistent auditory verbal hallucinations (hallucinating group) with that in 16 matched controls.
Results: There was no significant difference in dopamine synthesis capacity in the striatum, or its functional subdivisions, between groups and no relationship between subclinical psychotic symptom severity or schizotypal traits and dopamine synthesis capacity in the hallucinating group.
Conclusions: Altered dopamine synthesis capacity is unlikely to underlie subclinical hallucinations, suggesting that although there may be a phenomenological psychosis continuum, there are distinctions at the neurobiological level.
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- Auditory verbal hallucinations and continuum models of psychosis: A systematic review of the healthy voice-hearer literature Clinical Psychology Review November 1, 2016
- Beyond Trauma: A Multiple Pathways Approach to Auditory Hallucinations in Clinical and Nonclinical Populations Schizophrenia Bulletin August 8, 2018
- What Is the Link Between Hallucinations, Dreams, and Hypnagogic-Hypnopompic Experiences? Schizophrenia Bulletin June 29, 2016
- Understanding auditory verbal hallucinations: a systematic review of current evidence. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica May 2016
- Studying hallucinations within the NIMH RDoC framework. Schizophrenia Bulletin July 2014
and 3 more in the library
Cites 2
- From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. Schizophrenia Research November 1, 2005
- The same or different? A phenomenological comparison of auditory verbal hallucinations in healthy and psychotic individuals. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry March 2011