The Cause of Schizophrenia and Voice Hearing

'Schizophrenia is increasingly regarded as a neurodevelopmental disorder with environmental influences during early brain development' (Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 2005;294:557-562). These influences may include prenatal influenza exposure, obstetric complications, season of birth, prenatal maternal psychological stress, and maternal and foetal nutritional deficiency. There is some evidence that suggests a genetic predisposition but it may well be that this functions as a greater vulnerability to prenatal trauma rather than as a direct factor as had previously been assumed. Hitherto, however, there has been no satisfactory explanation as to how these prenatal environmental influences - of whatever variety - lead to higher incidences of schizophrenia.

Part of the problem is that schizophrenia is an umbrella term for a variety of symptoms. Our research is suggesting that there are a number of separate mechanisms that lead to the variety of possible symptoms. In terms of the the voice-hearing component of this condition, however, it has become clear to us that prenatal trauma is the originating cause. Grant McFetridge (Research Director of ISPS), building on the Triune brain model, has proposed an explanation for how environmental influences cause trauma in the foetus, which then lead to the voice hearing problem through the generation of 'sensate substitutes'. This has allowed him to develop the Silent Mind Technique™ a trauma healing methodology which greatly reduces or eliminates voices entirely. Interestingly, the same mechanism is often the cause of dysfunctional sexual attraction and the technique can also be used to eliminate this.

The Triune Brain Model
3brains

illustration from Júlio Rocha do Amaral, & Jorge Martins de Oliveira

The Triune model of the brain devised by neurologist Paul MacLean proposes that there are three primary parts to the brain that correspond to distinct evolutionary stratum - the neo-cortex or neo-mammalian brain, the limbic or paleo-mammalian system, and the reptilian brain, the brainstem and cerebellum. Each of these systems 'think' in different ways and behave like "three interconnected biological computers, [each] with its own special intelligence." Each of the three brains is connected by nerves to the other two, but each seems to operate as its own brain system with distinct capacities.

These brain structures develop in the womb and begin to perform their functions very early in the life of the foetus. The older 'reptillian' brain thinks in terms of associations and is primarily responsible for self preservation. Herein lies the origin of the problem. When the foetus' survival feels threatened - through any manner of prenatal trauma - the reptilian brain paradoxically equates its eventual survival with the emotional tone of the mother at the time of the event. If the mother is angry at a time when the organism is being damaged, say due to nutritional deficiency, the reptilian brain thinks it needs the emotional tone of anger around it in order to survive. It actually believes it survived the trauma due to the angry emotional tone. Thus, as the brain develops it creates a sensate substitute which it experiences as been separate to itself and which it believes it needs for survival. It seems that when language develops later in life that this split off part of the self - the sensate substitute - gains access to the language capacity also. It then verbalises often rather random 'thoughts' with a particular emotional tone. Most people have some element of this problem but they also have a suppression mechanism that limits the effect of the trauma to distracting thoughts. Later traumatic incidences, such as recreational drug use or child birth, can activate these early traumas and bypass the suppression mechanism. This leads to the distracting thoughts worsening and being experienced as voices.

Another way this mechanism plays out is in dysfunctional sexual attraction. If the reptilian part of your brain feels that it needs the emotional tone of anger close to it in order to survive, it is likely you will be attracted to partners who you perceive to have an angry emotional tone.

If the cause of voices is linked to early brain development then this might seem like bad news as it would be hard to imagine rewiring the brain. Fortunately, this mechanism functions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and with modified versions of the latest trauma healing techniques it is relatively simple to access and heal the originating trauma which quickly removes the voice(s) associated with the originating trauma.