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The phenomenology of auditory verbal hallucinations in schizophrenia assessed with the MiniVoiceQuestionnaire (MVQ)

Kenneth Hugdahl, Helene Hjelmervik, Sarah Weber, Lydia Brunvoll Sandøy, Josef J Bless, Lin Lilleskare, Alexander Craven, Marco Hirnstein, Katarzyna Kazimierczak, Gerard Dwyer, Magda Dumitru, Igne Sinceviciute, Lars Ersland, Erik Johnsen

medRxiv February 17, 2023 preprint DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.16.23285636 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational study
Sample size 41
Population Patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder
Measures Mini Voice Questionnaire (MVQ), PANSS, BAVQ
Topics Philosophy of mind
Key findings Specific events did not precede the onset or offset of auditory verbal hallucinations, except for the first episode, which was often associated with trauma or other negative events. The authors argue this suggests AVH episodes are spontaneously initiated and may have a neuronal origin. More frequent and longer episodes correlated with higher PANSS P3 (hallucinatory behavior) scores, implying greater symptom severity.

Abstract

We used a 10-question self-report questionnaire, Mini Voice Questionnaire (MVQ), for mapping the phenomenology of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). The MVQ contains questions related to daily AVH frequency and duration, the events preceding AVH episode onset and offset, the very first AVH episode, emotional content, coping strategies, if the voice comes from the inside or outside of head, if it is one’s own voice heard, and whether the voice is present when filling out the questionnaire. Forty-one patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder participated in the study. The construction of the MVQ was originally driven by an interest in whether AVH-episode onsets and offsets, that is, the coming and going of the voice, are initiated by specific environmental events or mental states, or whether they occur spontaneously, which could have both theoretical and clinical implications. MVQ scores were correlated with PANSS and BAVQ questionnaire scores. The results showed that specific events do not precede onset or offset of AVH episodes except for the very first episode which was often associated with trauma or other negative events. This finding could have implications for neurobiological models of AVH, showing that AVH episodes are spontaneously initiated, pointing to a neuronal origin of AVH episode onsets and offsets. The P3 (hallucinatory behavior) item of the PANSS questionnaire correlated significantly with frequency and duration of AVH episodes: More frequent and longer AVH episodes were associated with higher P3 scores, implying more severe symptoms. The results are discussed in terms of recent AVH models.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences 1980 Retrospective study n = 78
Visual Phenomenology of the LSD Flashback Persons with a history of LSD use 1983 Observational cohort n = 123
The neurophenomenology of neutral hypnosis. Individuals of high, medium, and low hypnotizability 2013 Observational cohort n = 37
The Phenomenology of Acute Organic Psychosis Patients with acute organic psychosis and acute schizophrenics 1987 Observational cohort n = 148
EEG oscillatory states as neuro-phenomenology of consciousness as revealed from patients in vegetative and minimally conscious states. Brain-damaged patients with disorders of consciousness and healthy-conscious subjects 2012 Observational cohort

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