Auditory system altered in auditory verbal hallucination studied using diffusion spectrum imaging, T1-weighted image and fMRI

To understand the pathology of auditory verbal hallucination (AVH), we investigated 3 MRI indices: generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) using diffusion spectrum imaging in the auditory radiation, gray matter volume (GMV) using T1-weighted images in Heschl’s gyrus (i.e., auditory cortex) and BOLD contrast estimates using task-fMRI in the auditory cortex. The BOLD relative to the GFA was significantly greater in controls than in patients with schizophrenia who had AVH. The GMV relative to the GFA also tended to show greater values in controls than in patients. An unregulated auditory sensation attributed to a dysfunction in the cortex might eventually encompass AVH.