#775 Charles Fernyhough: Inner Speech, Imaginary Companions, and Auditory Hallucinations
RECORDED ON JANUARY 10th 2022.
Dr. Charles Fernyhough is a Professor of Psychology at Durham University, where he is also Director of the Centre for Research into Inner Experience. He has contributed to the understanding of how language and thought are related in child development and beyond. The focus of his recent scientific work has been in applying ideas from mainstream developmental psychology to the study of psychosis, particularly the phenomenon of voice-hearing. He is the author of books like Pieces of Light: The New Science of Memory, and The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves.
In this episode, we talk about inner speech, imaginary companions, and hallucinations. We start with inner speech, how it develops in children, its connection to language, its functions, its neuroscience, and rumination. We then talk about imaginary companions, why children have them, how they influence how they think about their real-life friends, and their link to inner speech. We also discuss auditory verbal hallucinations, their neuroscience (with a focus on resting state networks and the default mode network); how people sometimes personalize the voices they hear; musical hallucinations; and multimodal hallucinations. Finally, we discuss how to think about distinguishing clinical from non-clinical conditions.
Time Links:
Intro
Inner speech, when it arises in child development, and its connection to language
What functions does inner speech serve?
The neuroscience of inner speech
Rumination
Imaginary companions: why do children have them?
How imaginary companions influence how children think about and characterize their real-life friends
The link between inner speech and imaginary companions
Auditory verbal hallucinations: are they social phenomena?
The neuroscience of auditory verbal hallucinations: resting state networks and the default mode network
Do people personalize the voices they hear?
Musical hallucinations
Multimodal hallucinations
Distinguishing between the clinical and the non-clinical
Follow Dr. Fernyhough’s work!
Follow Dr. Fernyhough’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3x3BtAn
Website: https://bit.ly/3ASPKRO
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/3cR2jF1