That song in my head: a review on Musical Hallucinations
Introduction Hearing music inside our heads is frequent, however some hear it more vividly, constantly and involuntarily. Musical Hallucinations (MH), first described by Baillarger in 1846, are a complex type of auditory hallucination characterized by perception of melodies, music, or songs. Objec...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2022-06-01
|
| Series: | European Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822018260/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797616509092102144 |
|---|---|
| author | F. Ramalheira M. Conde Moreno J. Romão S. Vieira |
| author_facet | F. Ramalheira M. Conde Moreno J. Romão S. Vieira |
| author_sort | F. Ramalheira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction
Hearing music inside our heads is frequent, however some hear it more vividly, constantly and involuntarily. Musical Hallucinations (MH), first described by Baillarger in 1846, are a complex type of auditory hallucination characterized by perception of melodies, music, or songs.
Objectives
This work aims to review the literature considering MH.
Methods
Pubmed and Google Scholar search using MeSH term “musical hallucinations”
Results
MH occurs in 0.16% of the population. They´re usually perceived as frightening or annoying. Proposed mechanisms include spontaneous activity triggered by sensory deprivation from hearing impairment, like in visual hallucinations in Charles Bonnet syndrome, and some authors even include MH as a subtype of this syndrome. Indeed, 60% of all patients with MH have hearing impairment or deafness. Other less frequent causes include focal brain lesions involving the auditory pathway and cortex, temporal epilepsy, metabolic or drug intoxication. Psychiatric conditions are uncommon but not impossible, especially in affective disorders. MH most frequently consist in familiar tunes, sometimes of personal significance, religious songs (especially in older patients), childhood songs, folk and popular songs from the radio - suggesting that musical perception is never unlearned but represents a “parasitic memory”, an unchangeable memory feature which can be experienced by relevant neuronal circuit stimulation. Most patients with MH were reported to have no extraordinary musical skills.
Conclusions
MH are rare and strongly associated with hearing loss, though investigation of other causes should be sought. Treating the underlying cause is important but remission is not guaranteed.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:42:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-701b7122d0394d568d8e787c0ace25eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:42:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-701b7122d0394d568d8e787c0ace25eb2023-11-17T05:08:18ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852022-06-0165S708S70910.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.1826That song in my head: a review on Musical HallucinationsF. Ramalheira0M. Conde Moreno1J. Romão2S. Vieira3Centro hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Serviço De Electroconvulsoterapia, Lisboa, PortugalCentro hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Hospital De Dia, Lisboa, PortugalCentro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, Psychiatry, Lisboa, PortugalCentro Hospitalar Psiquiátrico de Lisboa, Psiquiatria Geral, Lisboa, Portugal Introduction Hearing music inside our heads is frequent, however some hear it more vividly, constantly and involuntarily. Musical Hallucinations (MH), first described by Baillarger in 1846, are a complex type of auditory hallucination characterized by perception of melodies, music, or songs. Objectives This work aims to review the literature considering MH. Methods Pubmed and Google Scholar search using MeSH term “musical hallucinations” Results MH occurs in 0.16% of the population. They´re usually perceived as frightening or annoying. Proposed mechanisms include spontaneous activity triggered by sensory deprivation from hearing impairment, like in visual hallucinations in Charles Bonnet syndrome, and some authors even include MH as a subtype of this syndrome. Indeed, 60% of all patients with MH have hearing impairment or deafness. Other less frequent causes include focal brain lesions involving the auditory pathway and cortex, temporal epilepsy, metabolic or drug intoxication. Psychiatric conditions are uncommon but not impossible, especially in affective disorders. MH most frequently consist in familiar tunes, sometimes of personal significance, religious songs (especially in older patients), childhood songs, folk and popular songs from the radio - suggesting that musical perception is never unlearned but represents a “parasitic memory”, an unchangeable memory feature which can be experienced by relevant neuronal circuit stimulation. Most patients with MH were reported to have no extraordinary musical skills. Conclusions MH are rare and strongly associated with hearing loss, though investigation of other causes should be sought. Treating the underlying cause is important but remission is not guaranteed. Disclosure No significant relationships. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822018260/type/journal_articleHallucinationmusicalmusical hallucinationsmusic |
| spellingShingle | F. Ramalheira M. Conde Moreno J. Romão S. Vieira That song in my head: a review on Musical Hallucinations European Psychiatry Hallucination musical musical hallucinations music |
| title | That song in my head: a review on Musical Hallucinations |
| title_full | That song in my head: a review on Musical Hallucinations |
| title_fullStr | That song in my head: a review on Musical Hallucinations |
| title_full_unstemmed | That song in my head: a review on Musical Hallucinations |
| title_short | That song in my head: a review on Musical Hallucinations |
| title_sort | that song in my head a review on musical hallucinations |
| topic | Hallucination musical musical hallucinations music |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933822018260/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT framalheira thatsonginmyheadareviewonmusicalhallucinations AT mcondemoreno thatsonginmyheadareviewonmusicalhallucinations AT jromao thatsonginmyheadareviewonmusicalhallucinations AT svieira thatsonginmyheadareviewonmusicalhallucinations |