AUDITORY-VERBAL HALLUCINATIONS AND THE PHONOLOGICAL LOOP - A COGNITIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY

A patient with continuous auditory-verbal hallucinations was studied, in comparison with two cases with a past history of similar hallucinat ions, from a cognitive neuropsychological perspective. This attempts t o place hallucinations in the context of a normal cognitive process wh ich has become disordered. The process in question is the phonological loop, equivalent to inner speech, derived from a model of short-term or working memory. A series of short-term memory tests, assumed to rel y on the adequate functioning of the phonological loop, was administer ed, the results of which broadly conformed to a normal pattern of perf ormance. It is concluded that verbal hallucinations cannot be regarded as involving the phonological loop directly. Other points in the shor t-term memory/language system at which verbal hallucinations could ari se are discussed, as are suggestions for further research of this kind .