Among the cardinal symptoms of SZ are auditory hallucinations (AH), being reported in 50%–80% of diagnosed cases ( 4– 10).ĪHs are described as an aural sensory experience occurring during an awake state in the absence of external stimulation, over which the individual feels they have no control and which have a sense of realism ( 10, 11).

SZ is a multifaceted disease that affects one’s behavior, cognition, and intellectual functioning. Schizophrenia (SZ) is a debilitating neurological disease ( 1) that affects approximately 1% of the world’s population ( 2), with the global prevalence of SZ rising by over 5% percent in 26 years ( 3). That MMN amplitudes are specifically reduced for HPs during background noise conditions suggests HPs may have a harder time detecting changes in phonemic sounds during situations with external traffic or “real-world” noise compared to NPs. Significance: These findings suggest that the presence of AHs may specifically impair the MMN, while the P3a appears to be more generally impaired in SZ. Conversely, both NPs and HPs exhibited significant deficits in P3a amplitude relative to HCs under the SL condition only. Results: HPs showed significantly greater deficits in MMN amplitude relative to NPs in all background noise conditions, though predominantly at central electrodes.

Standard (P = 0.85) and deviant (P = 0.15) stimuli were presented during three noise conditions: silence (SL), traffic noise (TN), and wide-band white noise (WN). Methods: MMN and P3a were assessed in 12 hallucinating patients (HPs), 11 non-hallucinating patients (NPs) and 9 healthy controls (HCs) within an auditory oddball paradigm. The present study aimed to explore whether background noise altered the auditory MMN and P3a in those with SZ and treatment-resistant AHs. Mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a are common ERPs of interest within the study of SZ as they are robustly reduced in the chronic phase of the illness. During the presence of AHs aberrant activity of auditory cortices have been observed, including hyperactivation during AHs alone and hypoactivation when AHs are accompanied by a concurrent external auditory competitor.

4Department of Psychology, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, CanadaĪuditory hallucinations (AHs) are among the cardinal symptoms of schizophrenia (SZ).

3Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

2Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

1Department of Psychology, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Pokemon auditory hallucination