The changing face of hallucination research: The international consortium on hallucination research (ICHR) 2015 meeting report

Abstract

This article reports on the Third Biennial Meeting of the International Consortium on Hallucinations Research, held in Melbourne, Australia, in October 2015. Following a public conference in which research findings were considered in relation to subjective experience and practice, 9 multidisciplinary working groups examined key current issues in progressing the conceptualization and research of hallucinations. Work group topics included: multicenter validation of the transdiagnostic and multimodal Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences; development of an improved outcome measure for psychological therapies; the relationship between inhibition and hallucinations across multiple levels of explanation; hallucinations in relation to sleep phenomena; emotion and hallucinations; multiple interactions between the experience of self and hallucinations; interactions between language, auditory and memory networks; resting state networks including the default mode; and analyses arising from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data-sharing. Major themes in hallucinations research identified during the meeting included (1) progression beyond the auditory verbal modality in schizophrenia to consider hallucinations across modalities and different populations; (2) development of new measures; (3) the central role of multisite collaboration through shared data collection and data pooling; (4) study of time-based and interactive models of hallucination; and (5) the need to increase the accessibility and availability of real-life interventions for people with persisting and distressing hallucinations.