Associations between cortical thickness and auditory verbal hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia: A systematic review. (30th December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Köse, Güldas; Jessen, Kasper; Ebdrup, Bjørn H.; Nielsen, Mette Ødegaard
• Is Part Of: Psychiatry research. Volume 282(2018)
• Page Start: 31
• Page End: 39
• Publication Date: 2018-12-30
• Subjects: Cortical thinning -- Magnetic resonance imaging -- Research domain criteria; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Brain -- Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Diagnostic Imaging -- Periodicals; Psychiatrie -- Périodiques; Cerveau -- Imagerie pour le diagnostic -- Périodiques; 616.890754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2018.10.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-4927

Abstract

Highlights: Six studies assessed cortical thickness in patients with AVH. They consistently reported cortical thinning in temporal regions. Several other regions were reported more inconsistently, and methodology varied. A more homogenies measure of the phenomenology of AVH is needed. Standardized approaches like the RDoC framework may improve study-comparability. Abstract: Auditory verbal hallucinations are common symptoms in schizophrenia patients, and recent magnetic resonance imaging studies have suggested associations between cortical thickness and auditory verbal hallucinations. This article summarises the associations between cortical thickness reduction and auditory verbal hallucinations, conceptualising the findings based on the Research Domain Criteria framework. Six studies identified in a systematic literature search were included in the review. Cortical thickness reductions in schizophrenia patients with auditory verbal hallucinations were reported in the transverse temporal gyrus in four of the studies, in the superior temporal gyrus in three of them, and in the middle temporal gyrus in three of the studies. These regions are collectively associated with auditory perception in the cognitive system domain in the Research Domain Criteria. Findings in other brain areas were inconsistent, which may reflect uncharacterised differences in the phenomenology and subjective experience of auditory verbal hallucinations. Future studies are encouraged to apply the Research Domain Criteria to characterise other putative networks associated with the subjective experience of auditory verbal hallucinations. This approach may facilitate understanding of current inconsistencies between auditory verbal hallucinations and cortical thickness in other brain areas.