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Better Than Mermaids and Stray Dogs? Subtyping Auditory Verbal Hallucinations and Its Implications for Research and Practice

McCarthy-Jones, S.; Thomas, N.; Strauss, C.; Dodgson, G.; Jones, N.; Woods, A.; Brewin, C.; Hayward, M.; Stephane, M.; Barton, J.; Kingdon, D.; Sommer, I.

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Authors

S. McCarthy-Jones

N. Thomas

C. Strauss

G. Dodgson

N. Jones

C. Brewin

M. Hayward

M. Stephane

J. Barton

D. Kingdon

I. Sommer



Abstract

The phenomenological diversity of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) is not currently accounted for by any model based around a single mechanism. This has led to the proposal that there may be distinct AVH subtypes, which each possess unique (as well as shared) underpinning mechanisms. This could have important implications both for research design and clinical interventions because different subtypes may be responsive to different types of treatment. This article explores how AVH subtypes may be identified at the levels of phenomenology, cognition, neurology, etiology, treatment response, diagnosis, and voice hearer’s own interpretations. Five subtypes are proposed; hypervigilance, autobiographical memory (subdivided into dissociative and nondissociative), inner speech (subdivided into obsessional, own thought, and novel), epileptic and deafferentation. We suggest other facets of AVH, including negative content and form (eg, commands), may be best treated as dimensional constructs that vary across subtypes. After considering the limitations and challenges of AVH subtyping, we highlight future research directions, including the need for a subtype assessment tool.

Citation

McCarthy-Jones, S., Thomas, N., Strauss, C., Dodgson, G., Jones, N., Woods, A., …Sommer, I. (2014). Better Than Mermaids and Stray Dogs? Subtyping Auditory Verbal Hallucinations and Its Implications for Research and Practice. Schizophrenia Bulletin: The Journal of Psychoses and Related Disorders, 40(Suppl 4), S275-S284. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbu018

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jul 1, 2014
Deposit Date Nov 12, 2014
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Schizophrenia Bulletin
Print ISSN 0586-7614
Electronic ISSN 1745-1701
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 40
Issue Suppl 4
Pages S275-S284
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbu018
Keywords AVH, Hearing voices, Phenomenology, Schizophrenia, Symptom classification, Trauma.

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Copyright Statement
© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.





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