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Musical hallucinations: a brief review of functional neuroimaging findings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2016

Francesco Bernardini ,
Luigi Attademo ,
Karen Blackmon  and
Orrin Devinsky
Francesco Bernardini*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Hôpital Érasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Luigi Attademo
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
Karen Blackmon
Affiliation:
Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York
Orrin Devinsky
Affiliation:
Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York
*
*Address for correspondence: Francesco Bernardini, Department of Psychiatry, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, 1070 Anderlecht, Belgium. (Email: francesco.bernardini@erasme.ulb.ac.be)
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Abstract

Musical hallucinations are uncommon phenomena characterized by intrusive and frequently distressful auditory musical percepts without an external source, often associated with hypoacusis, psychiatric illness, focal brain lesion, epilepsy, and intoxication/pharmacology. Their physiological basis is thought to involve diverse mechanisms, including “release” from normal sensory or inhibitory inputs as well as stimulation during seizures, or they can be produced by functional or structural disorders in diverse cortical and subcortical areas. The aim of this review is to further explore their pathophysiology, describing the functional neuroimaging findings regarding musical hallucinations. A literature search of the PubMed electronic database was conducted through to 29 December 2015. Search terms included “musical hallucinations” combined with the names of specific functional neuroimaging techniques. A total of 18 articles, all clinical case reports, providing data on 23 patients, comprised the set we reviewed. Diverse pathological processes and patient populations with musical hallucinations were included in the studies. Converging data from multiple studies suggest that the superior temporal sulcus is the most common site and that activation is the most common mechanism. Further neurobiological research is needed to clarify the pathophysiology of musical hallucinations.

Keywords

Reviewfunctional neuroimagingmusical hallucinations
Type
Review Articles
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 22 , Issue 5 , October 2017 , pp. 397 - 403
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2016 

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