Active Inference and Auditory Hallucinations
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are often distressing symptoms of several neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Using a Markov decision process formulation of active inference, we develop a novel model of AVH as false (positive) inference. Active inference treats perception as a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Ubiquity Press
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Computational Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cpsyjournal.org/articles/46 |
| _version_ | 1798031976330952704 |
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| author | David A. Benrimoh Thomas Parr Peter Vincent Rick A. Adams Karl Friston |
| author_facet | David A. Benrimoh Thomas Parr Peter Vincent Rick A. Adams Karl Friston |
| author_sort | David A. Benrimoh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are often distressing symptoms of several neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Using a Markov decision process formulation of active inference, we develop a novel model of AVH as false (positive) inference. Active inference treats perception as a process of hypothesis testing, in which sensory data are used to disambiguate between alternative hypotheses about the world. Crucially, this depends upon a delicate balance between prior beliefs about unobserved (hidden) variables and the sensations they cause. A false inference that a voice is present, even in the absence of auditory sensations, suggests that prior beliefs dominate perceptual inference. Here we consider the computational mechanisms that could cause this imbalance in perception. Through simulation, we show that the content of (and confidence in) prior beliefs depends on beliefs about policies (here sequences of listening and talking) and on beliefs about the reliability of sensory data. We demonstrate several ways in which hallucinatory percepts could occur when an agent expects to hear a voice in the presence of imprecise sensory data. This model expresses, in formal terms, alternative computational mechanisms that underwrite AVH and, speculatively, can be mapped onto neurobiological changes associated with schizophrenia. The interaction of action and perception is important in modeling AVH, given that speech is a fundamentally enactive and interactive process—and that hallucinators often actively engage with their voices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:05:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f161d8280a4e48f0886fed753bd69bce |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2379-6227 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T20:05:22Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computational Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-f161d8280a4e48f0886fed753bd69bce2022-12-22T04:05:20ZengUbiquity PressComputational Psychiatry2379-62272018-12-01218320410.1162/CPSY_a_0002244Active Inference and Auditory HallucinationsDavid A. Benrimoh0Thomas Parr1Peter Vincent2Rick A. Adams3Karl Friston4Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, LondonWellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, LondonWellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, LondonDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, LondonWellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, LondonAuditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) are often distressing symptoms of several neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Using a Markov decision process formulation of active inference, we develop a novel model of AVH as false (positive) inference. Active inference treats perception as a process of hypothesis testing, in which sensory data are used to disambiguate between alternative hypotheses about the world. Crucially, this depends upon a delicate balance between prior beliefs about unobserved (hidden) variables and the sensations they cause. A false inference that a voice is present, even in the absence of auditory sensations, suggests that prior beliefs dominate perceptual inference. Here we consider the computational mechanisms that could cause this imbalance in perception. Through simulation, we show that the content of (and confidence in) prior beliefs depends on beliefs about policies (here sequences of listening and talking) and on beliefs about the reliability of sensory data. We demonstrate several ways in which hallucinatory percepts could occur when an agent expects to hear a voice in the presence of imprecise sensory data. This model expresses, in formal terms, alternative computational mechanisms that underwrite AVH and, speculatively, can be mapped onto neurobiological changes associated with schizophrenia. The interaction of action and perception is important in modeling AVH, given that speech is a fundamentally enactive and interactive process—and that hallucinators often actively engage with their voices.https://cpsyjournal.org/articles/46bayesianactive inferenceschizophreniapsychosishallucinations |
| spellingShingle | David A. Benrimoh Thomas Parr Peter Vincent Rick A. Adams Karl Friston Active Inference and Auditory Hallucinations Computational Psychiatry bayesian active inference schizophrenia psychosis hallucinations |
| title | Active Inference and Auditory Hallucinations |
| title_full | Active Inference and Auditory Hallucinations |
| title_fullStr | Active Inference and Auditory Hallucinations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Active Inference and Auditory Hallucinations |
| title_short | Active Inference and Auditory Hallucinations |
| title_sort | active inference and auditory hallucinations |
| topic | bayesian active inference schizophrenia psychosis hallucinations |
| url | https://cpsyjournal.org/articles/46 |
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