Covert oral behavior and auditory hallucinations.

This research sought to establish the existence of covert oral language behavior (as measured by chin muscle action potentials (MAP), tongue MAP, breathing amplitude, and whispered sound production) immediately prior to a psychotic's report of auditory hallucinations. The results indicate that two of these response measures (chin MAP and breathing amplitude) significantly increased just before the report of the hallucinations, and that the other two measures tended to increase at that time. Furthermore, slight whisperings were detected significantly often immediately before the hallucinations were reported. Control measures suggest that the response changes were localized in the speech mechanism and thus are not part of a general bodily arousal. It is concluded that, at least in one case, covert oral language behavior significantly often preceded the occurrence of auditory hallucinations. It is the task of future research to ascertain the nature and generality of the relationship between that behavior and the report of hallucinations.