Multimodal hallucinations in schizophrenia and its management

• Main Authors: Vijaya Kumar, Virupakshappa Bagewadi, Dayanand Sagar, Shivarama Varambally
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2017-01-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine
• Subjects: Multimodal hallucinations; schizophrenia; treatment; treatment resistance
• Online Access: http://www.ijpm.info/article.asp?issn=0253-7176;year=2017;volume=39;issue=1;spage=86;epage=88;aulast=Kumar

A cluster of symptoms including hallucinations characterizes schizophrenia. Hallucinations that occur in more than one modality simultaneously and emanate from a single source are called multimodal hallucinations (MMHs). The occurrence of simultaneous hallucinations as the major manifestations of a psychiatric disorder often was dismissed as factitious disorder or malingering. Conversely, MMHs have been reported in severe mental disorders including schizophrenia. Here, we report MMH in two patients of treatment-resistant schizophrenia and its successful management with clozapine. The significance of MMH on the course, prognosis, and treatment resistance of schizophrenia needs to be elucidated. Further systematic research is needed to address these issues.