Comparing Primary Voice-Hearers with and without Hallucinations in Other Sensory Modalities.
Wei Lin Toh, Neil Thomas, Susan L Rossell
Psychopathology 2021 DOI: 10.1159/000517455 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 100 |
| Population | Patients with psychosis |
| Measures | Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE) |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Auditory hallucinations Delusions Psychosis Psychotic symptoms |
| Key findings | Patients with multisensory hallucinations reported more compliance with perceived commands, auditory illusions, and sensed presences than those with auditory hallucinations only, and also showed greater delusion-related distress and functional impairment and more delusions of reference and misidentification. The authors present these as preliminary findings and argue that hallucination research should extend beyond the auditory modality. |
Abstract
There has been burgeoning interest in studying hallucinations in psychosis occurring across multiple sensory modalities. The current study aimed to characterize the auditory hallucination and delusion profiles in patients with auditory hallucinations only versus those with multisensory hallucinations. Participants with psychosis were partitioned into groups with voices only (AVH; n = 50) versus voices plus hallucinations in at least one other sensory modality (AVH+; n = 50), based on their responses on the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS). Basic demographic and clinical information was collected, and the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE) was used to assess psychosis phenomenology. Relative to the AVH group, greater compliance to perceived commands, auditory illusions, and sensed presences was significantly elevated in the AVH+ group. The latter group also had greater levels of delusion-related distress and functional impairment and was more likely to endorse delusions of reference and misidentification. This preliminary study uncovered important phenomenological differences in those with multisensory hallucinations. Future hallucination research extending beyond the auditory modality is needed.