Auditory signal detection in schizophrenia: Correlates with auditory verbal hallucinations & effect of single session transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been beneficial for treating auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in schizophrenia (SZ). Aberrant auditory signal detection (ASD) is one of the pathogenetic mechanisms for AVH. We investigated the correlates of ASD with AVH and the impact of single-session tDCS on ASD in SZ patients.

METHODS:

The ASD performance in SZ patients was compared with matched healthy controls (HC) (N = 24). Subsequently, the effect of single-session tDCS on ASD in SZ patients (N = 24) with AVH was examined in a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, cross-over design. The true and sham tDCS were administered (anode at the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and cathode at the left temporoparietal junction) on two different days. ASD task was performed before and after each session of tDCS.

RESULTS:

Auditory hallucination rating scores correlated significantly with false alarm rate, discriminability index, and response bias. SZ patients had a significantly lesser discriminability index in ASD than HC. Single-session tDCS (true versus sham) did not have any significant effect on ASD in SZ patients.

CONCLUSION:

The study findings support the pathogenetic role of ASD in AVH in SZ. Lack of effect on ASD following single-session tDCS suggests the need for multi-session studies in the future.

• Authors: Sowmya Selvaraj, Harleen Chhabra, Damodharan Dinakaran, Vanteemar S Sreeraj, Shivakumar Venkataram, Janardhanan C Narayanaswamy, Muralidharan Kesavan, Shivarama Varambally, Ganesan Venkatasubramanian
• Journal: Psychiatry research (Psychiatry Res) Vol. 297 Pg. 113704 (03 2021) ISSN: 1872-7123 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 33453498 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Topics

• Adult
• Cross-Over Studies
• Double-Blind Method
• Female
• Hallucinations (physiopathology, therapy)
• Humans
• Male
• Prefrontal Cortex (physiopathology)
• Schizophrenia (physiopathology, therapy)
• Temporal Lobe (physiopathology)
• Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
• Treatment Outcome
• Young Adult