Auditory‐verbal hallucinations and the phonological loop: A cognitive neuropsychological study

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Abstract
A patient with continuous auditory‐verbal hallucinations was studied, in comparison with two cases with a past history of similar hallucinations, from a cognitive neuropsychological perspective. This attempts to place hallucinations in the context of a normal cognitive process which 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 rely on the adequate functioning of the phonological loop, was administered, the results of which broadly conformed to a normal pattern of performance. It is concluded that verbal hallucinations cannot be regarded as involving the phonological loop directly. Other points in the short‐term memory/language system at which verbal hallucinations could arise are discussed, as are suggestions for further research of this kind.

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