The neurobiology of hallucinations is quite fascinating. In people with schizophrenia who hear voices, research using functional imaging has shown there is altered connectivity between parts of the temporal lobe, prefrontal region, and the anterior cingulate gyrus. In normal subjects, these areas would communicate in such a way that differentiate “self” from “non-self” stimuli. Whereas, in the psychotic person with auditory hallucinations, the ability to make this distinction is lost. Ever wonder why you can’t tickle yourself? Go ahead…I’ll wait. Blakemore and colleagues propose that the response to self-generated stimuli (i.e. tickling yourself) is dampened because we anticipate the response. In people with hallucinations from psychosis, this attenuation does not occur. Therefore, they not only lack insight that the stimulus is self-generated but they also often can’t anticipate the occurrence.