New research suggests that auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia may occur when the brain fails to recognize its own “inner speech”, the silent voice most people use to think. Researchers compared EEG recordings between schizophrenic patients who do and do not regularly hear voices with healthy participants. In healthy individuals, the brain dampens its response to self-generated speech because it predicts the sound. In people actively experiencing hallucinations, the brain responded more strongly as if the voice came from an external source. This finding provides the strongest evidence to date that hallucinated voices may in fact be misidentified self-talk. This brain response could potentially become a biomarker to identify people at risk of psychosis earlier, opening the door to faster diagnosis and more targeted treatments.

Reference:

Whitford TJ, et al. Schizophr Bull. Published online October 21, 2025. DOI:10.1093/schbul/sbaf167