Scientists find out why schizophrenics hear voices in their heads
A new study has helped to better understand the nature of auditory hallucinations in people with schizophrenia. The researchers found that such patients can hear voices due to disorders in the brain's motor system, which creates a kind of "noise" signal. This discovery could change the approach to treating hallucinations and expand understanding of the mechanisms of mental illness.
The scientists, whose study was published in the journal PLOS Biology, explain that under normal conditions, the brain's motor system sends clear signals to the auditory system that suppress the sound of one's own voice during a conversation. However, in people with schizophrenia, this mechanism is disrupted, leading to hallucinatory symptoms.
The main hypothesis of the study is that auditory hallucinations are caused by a defect in the so-called efferent copy (EC), a type of brain signal that predicts the sounds a person is going to make. In people with schizophrenia, this signal can be "noisy," meaning it is not accurate, which causes illusions.
Researchers observed the brain activity of 40 patients with schizophrenia, half of whom experienced auditory hallucinations. The results showed that the motor-sensory processes of those who heard voices did not work correctly, causing incorrect neural responses to sounds.
These findings suggest that the problem of auditory hallucinations is associated not only with disorders in the auditory system, but also with defects in the connections between the motor and auditory centers of the brain. This discovery opens new avenues for the development of treatments aimed at restoring motor-sensory connections.
Earlier, scientists found that having a cat increases the likelihood of developing schizophrenia.
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