Hallucinations are caused by a fold in the brain

According to a study done at the University of Cambridge, hallucinations are likely to be caused by a fold in a part of the brain called the paracingulate suclus, a fold in the prefrontal cortex. This paracingulate suclus varies in size from person to person, but during the study a mix of schizophrenic and healthy patients were observed to identify a specific alteration that explains hallucinations. It was found that the shorter the paracingualte suclus (the fold), the more likely one is to have hallucinations. The study says that “a reduction in suclus length by 1cm led to an increase likelihood of experiencing hallucinations of nearly 20%”. This difference in fold length means that there is less cell-carrying grey matter tissue in the area.

The precingulate suclus area is in charge of imagination and reality. If this fold does not work properly, one may experience difficulty when differentiating between reality and imagination, making one more likely to suffer from hallucinations.