Cortical activation associated with the experience of auditory hallucinations and perception of human speech in schizophrenia: A PET correlation study

Abstract

A [H2 15O] PET correlation analysis technique was employed to correlate brain activations associated with self-reports of auditory hallucinations in hallucinating patients (n=8) and perception of transient, random human speech in non-hallucinating (n=7) patients and normal control subjects (n=8). Perception of externally generated human speech amongst the non-hallucinating and normal control participants was associated with a consistent pattern of extensive bilateral auditory cortex activation (Brodmann areas 40/41/42/22). Hallucinating participants demonstrated a network of cortical activations including bilateral auditory cortex, left limbic regions, right medial frontal and right prefront..