Research into auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) is lacking in several important ways, according to a systematic review by Dr. Wei Lin Toh and associates.
While previous research indicates that a significant number of people with BD and MDD experience AVH, estimates vary widely, from 11.3% to 62.8% of BD patients, and 5.4% to 40.6% of MDD patients. One neuroimaging study found potential frontotemporal connectivity relating to AVH in bipolar patients.
No study has systematically investigated phenomenological characteristics of AVH in BD and MDD, a significant gap in knowledge relating to AVH in the two disorders. In addition, the investigators recommend research into links between AVH and delusions, as many BD patients and MDD patients experience both delusions and hallucinations of any sort.
“The topic of AVH remains a central but largely understudied symptom in BD, and more so, MDD. Further progress can only be achieved when phenomenological, cognitive, and neuroimaging research efforts go hand-in-hand,” concluded Dr. Toh of Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, and colleagues.
Find the full review in the Journal of Affective Disorders (May 28, 2015 [doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.05.040]).
