PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 15935129

Hallucinations in the general population.

Louise C Johns
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Although hallucinations occur in a range of organic and psychiatric conditions, they are not invariably a sign of illness and also occur in "normal" individuals. Evidence indicates that psychotic hallucinations lie on a continuum with normal experiences, and many more people experience hallucinations than meet criteria for clinical psychosis. In addition to a symptomatic continuum between normal individuals and patients with psychosis, there is evidence that hallucinatory experiences in nonclinical and clinical samples may share the same underlying etiologic influences, including sociodemographic risk factors and neurocognitive mechanisms. Predictors of patient status include beliefs about hallucinations, negative mood, and perceived lack of control.

Explore related subjects

Brief Psychiatric Rating ScaleCross-Sectional StudiesFollow-Up StudiesHallucinationsHumansIncidencePsychotic DisordersReference ValuesRisk FactorsJournal ArticleReview

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Louise C Johns. 2005. Hallucinations in the general population.. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-005-0049-9

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2007

The validity of using patient self-report to assess psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia.

Brief, reliable and valid measures of psychosis can be very useful in both clinical practice and research, and for identifying unmet treatment needs in persons with schizophrenia. This study examines the concurrent validity and receiver operating characteristics of the psychosis scale of the Revised Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-R). The study was conducted with 71 adults with schizophrenia who were randomly sampled from a large mental health clinic. Study participants at the West Los Angeles Veterans Healthcare Center were assessed using the BASIS-R, a subjective, self-report measure, and the UCLA Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), a clinician-rated measure administered by highly trained research staff. The psychosis scale of the BASIS-R shows good concurrent validity with the psychosis items on the BPRS. Using the BPRS as the gold standard for measuring psychosis, receiver operating characteristics suggest that both the weighted and unweighted versions of the BASIS-R psychosis scale adequately identify psychosis that is moderate or greater or severe. The performance of the two versions was similar. Unweighted scores are easier to calculate, and we therefore recommend cutoff scores based on the unweighted BASIS-R. We identified a cutoff score of 0.5 to best detect moderate or greater psychosis, and a cutoff score of 1.0 to best detect severe or extremely severe psychosis. The BASIS-R has potential as an assessment tool and screening instrument in schizophrenia.

Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale↗
PubMed2006

Simvastatin-induced decline in cognition.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of new-onset cognitive difficulties in an older patient after initiation of simvastatin therapy. CASE SUMMARY: A 64-year-old man developed cognitive difficulties within one week after starting simvastatin 40 mg/day. There was a 3 point decline from baseline in the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) score 2 weeks after simvastatin was initiated, as well as declines in the Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scales. Simvastatin was discontinued, and the patient's cognition improved to baseline within 6 weeks. Rechallenge with simvastatin at half the original dose was attempted. His cognition deteriorated over a 2 week period. Simvastatin was stopped, and the patient's MMSE scores returned to baseline within 4 weeks. DISCUSSION: This patient developed new-onset problems with short-term memory, long-term memory, and item misplacement in addition to the baseline problems with names and word-finding that had been present prior to beginning statin therapy. Decreased cognition identified with neuropsychological tests has been shown in clinical trials with simvastatin; however, as of August 23, 2006, this is the first report of cognitive and functional problems that have been documented using standardized instruments. The Naranjo probability scale revealed a highly probable adverse reaction of cognitive decline associated with simvastatin therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Statins are commonly used in the older population. Simvastatin appeared to be associated with worsened cognition in our patient, an older person with preexisting memory problems. Statins should be used with caution in this vulnerable population.

Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale↗
PubMed2006

Use of video conferencing for psychiatric and forensic evaluations.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether the quality of results from video interviews is comparable with that of in-person interviews. METHODS: Interrater reliabilities for two video conference interview conditions were compared with those for in-person interviews with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-Anchored Version and the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool-Criminal Adjudication, given to 72 forensic inpatients. The video conditions included in-person and remote interviewers. In the first condition, an in-person interviewer administered the instruments, with remote observation and scoring. The second condition entailed remote administration and an in-person observer. The third condition used an in-person interviewer and observer. RESULTS: Good to excellent reliabilities resulted from all conditions with intraclass correlations of .69 to .82. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that providers can expect remote interviews to provide clinical information similar to that obtained by in-person interviews.

Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale↗