Structural Correlates of Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenia: a Meta-analysis

Background: Despite being one of the most common symptoms of schizophrenia, determining the neural correlates of auditory hallucinations still remains elusive with various studies providing inconsistent results.

Methods: We conducted a voxel-based meta-analysis of studies investigating the structural correlates of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia.

Results: 7 datasets including 350 patients were identified. There was a significant negative correlation between the severity of hallucinations and gray matter volume in the left insula and right superior temporal gyrus.

Conclusion: With its key role in stimulus evaluation and optimizing prediction (proximal salience), the insula is likely to be a cardinal region along with superior temporal gyrus in the mechanism of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia.