SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Hallucinations”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

Visual hallucinations during hallucinogenic experience and schizophrenia.

The visual hallucinations experienced by a 26-year-old woman under the influence of hallucinogens and during schizophrenia are described. Three types of hallucinations are delineated: (1) superimposed hallucinations, (2) spatial and depth distortions, and (3) animations. These three types of hallucinations appear to represent consecutive gradations on a continuum of the ego function of reality testing, with superimposed hallucinations revealing the least and animations the greatest degree of disorientation. The findings of the present study indicate the need for a research design that compares the hallucinations of schizophrenics to the toxic hallucinations of nonschizophrenics.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

Simple formed hallucinations confined to the area of a specific visual field defect.

Thirteen patients with transient or permanent homonymous visual field defects experienced formed hallucinations localized to the affected part of the visual field. The lesion was occipital in 8 instances (infarction 7, porencephalic cyst 1), parietooccipital in 3 (infarction 2, angioma 1) and probably parietal in 2 (epilepsy 1, encephalitis 1). The disorder involved the right hemisphere in 9 cases, the left hemisphere in 3 cases and both hemispheres sequentially in one patient. Hallucinations were accompanied by palinopsia in 2 cases, metamorphopsia in one case and constriction of one pupil in another case. This particular type of hallucination is considered as an irritative phenomenon of the visual association cortex which can be symptomatic of a parieto-occipital lesion and does not necessarily implicate the temporal lobes. Distinctive features about the visions were that they consisted of people, animals or objects. There was no auditory accompaniment and any action that took place was stereotyped and did not tell a story. In most cases, the hallucinations were not clearly related to any visual memory. It is suggested that the visual association cortex amy be responsible for the organization of visual percepts into broad categories of which people, animals and objects are representative. The occurrence of such hallucinations with a visual field defect suggests that the cells of the association cortex are more likely to discharge spontaneously once they are deprived of their normal afferent inflow from the calcarine cortex.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Somesthetic hallucinations and motility in schizophrenia: neurophysiological views and information flow model.

Clinical study of three schizophrenic men without known seizure disorders has heuristic implications, pointing to neurophysiological factors in their somesthetic hallucinations: (a) In two instances the body areas involved in such hallucinations (the abdominal cavity and the top of one foot) also happen to be represented side by side on the "map" of the receptive somesthetic areas at the postcentral gyrus. (b) In all three schizophrenic men the occurrence of their somesthetic hallucinations can be conceptualized along the lines of MacKay's (1970) information flow model for perception in general, with some specific modifications, which center around the key roles of sufficient change occurring in two specific aspects of this model. (c) Further conceptualization is suggested within Grey Walter's (1973) testable model of triple association among Conditional, Imperative and Operant Response--albeit mostly in reverse sequence with respect to somesthetic hallucinations under discussion. These schizophrenic men reveal in their past and present experiences a pattern in which the sequence of events is initiated through changes at the efferent side (restriction of voluntary motility), which trigger afferent experiences, albeit hallucinated ones. Practical implications center around the probably salutary role of voluntary motility performed purposefully and at the person's own pace.

Adult↗

PubMed1977

A study of reported hallucinations in a southeastern county.

In traditional Western psychiatric theory, seeing or hearing things that other people do not think are there could be termed a hallucination which is often considered indicative of underlying psychopathology. The psychiatric interpretation of pathological meanings of these experiences for an individual can be contrasted with an anthropologic approach which considers whether there are underlying cultural influences to account for certain distributions of reported hallucinations and their content and to ask about the social and spiritual, as well as psychologic, meanings of such experiences. This paper presents data on reported hallucinations in a random sample of the general population of a county in north central Florida. When the results of the questions on hallucinations were compared in relation to sociodemographic variables, it was found that hallucinations were more commonly reported by the young, by blacks, by members of the lower socioeconomic quintiles and by those belonging to certain church types. These data will be discussed from the complementing and contrasting psychiatric and anthropologic viewpoints.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977

Quadruplet hallucinations. Phenotypic variations of a schizophrenic genotype.

This article provides an in-depth analysis of hallucinations in monozygous quadruplets concordant for schizophrenia. Since all four are genetically identical, deviations among them with regard to various aspects of hallucinations probably represent the effects that nongenetic factors can produce in hallucinating schizophrenics. Concordance probably represent the effects of genetic factors. We present here findings based on this research strategy, and a brief review of the literature on hallucinations.

Adult↗

PubMed1978

Cocaine hallucinations.

The author reviews the literature on hallucinations that occur as a result of acute and chronic administration of cocaine. He examined the phenomenology of cocaine hallucinations in a group of 85 recreational cocaine users, 15 of whom reported hallucinatory experiences in visual, tactile, olfactory, auditory, and gustatory modalities. He discusses a new phenomenon of "snow lights" in terms of initiating a progression of symptoms leading to the classic "cocaine bugs." He also points out the similarity of cocaine hallucinations to entoptic phenomena and migraine hallucinations, which suggests a common mechanism of action based on CNS excitation and arousal.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

The form and content of schizophrenic hallucinations.

To evaluate changes in the hallucinatory experience, the author analyzed the form and content of the hallucinations of 10 schizophrenic patients during two phases of their illness, the acute phase and remission. In both test periods the patients experienced auditory hallucinations as objectively real and as directing their thoughts and behavior. Nonauditory hallucinations appeared more common than cursory examination would suggest. The patients were able to stop auditory hallucinations during remission but not during the acute phase of their illness. Hallucinatory content was threatening and isolating during the acute phase but supportive and socially focused during remissions.

Acute Disease↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The hallucinating patient and nursing intervention.

This paper has been concerned with a patient's problematic behavior pattern, namely hallucinations. The social and dynamic significance of the behavior for the individual have been explored and analyzed and a formulation of possible developmental processes influencing the patient to utilize hallucinations has been discussed. On the basis of these analyses, formulations for a psychiatric nursing treatment plan of intervention have been presented. In conclusion, it is well to bear in mind that the schizophrenic patient, who is hallucinating, is striving to communicate in as clear and straightforward a way as he knows, the nature of his anxieties and experiences, despite how radically different they are from the nurse's, with speech content that is diffucult to follow. Thus, with this understanding, it behooves us as nurses to intervene accordingly and "decode" the hallucinated messages and thereby assist in breaking into the third stage in the evolutionary cycle of a psychosis, as cited by R.D. Laing: Stage 1 = Good (me); Stage 2 = Bad (me); Stage 3 = Mad (not me).

Ego↗

PubMed1976

An investigation of psychological factors involved in the predisposition to auditory hallucinations.

Previous research by the author (Slade, 1972, 1973) and others has suggested that psychological stress plays an important role in triggering off the experience of auditory hallucinations. Clearly, however, predispositional factors are involved as well. The present study is an attempt to investigate some of the psychological factors which may predispose the individual to such experiences. A battery of tests involving cognitive, personality and mental imagery variables and the verbal transformation effect was administered to two small groups of psychotic patients differing only in respect of a history of auditory hallucinations and a normal control group. The main conclusion was that the results lend direct support to the proposition of Mintz & Alpert (1972) that a combination of vivid mental imagery and poor reality-testing in the auditory modality provides the basic predisposition for the experience of auditory hallucinations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1976

Towards a theory of auditory hallucinations: outline of an hypothetical four-factor model.

The research findings of the writer to date on auditorily hallucinated patients are briefly summarized and an hypothetical four-factor model outlined to account for them. This general working model envisages auditory hallucinations as stemming from the interaction of psychological stress with an underlying hallucinatroy predisposition which is to a large extent genetically determined. A third factor of external stimulation is seen as exerting an inhibitory effect on the conscious experience of the hallucination. While a fourth speculative factor of a positive feedback loop is introduced to account for a number of otherwise incompatible observations. Each of the four factors in the hypothetical model is defined as precisely as is possible at present and discussed in relation to other research findings in this area and to the literature more generally. An attempt is made to spell out some of the theoretical predictions and clinical implications of the model.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed1978

Effects of naloxone on schizophrenia: reduction in hallucinations in a subpopulation of subjects.

Endogenous opiate-like peptides (endorphins) are putative neuroregulators located throughout the mammalian brainstem. There is some evidence for their role in pain, stress, and affect. We report that the opiate antagonist, naloxone, alters some schizophrenic symptoms. In a double-blind, cross-over study, naloxone produced decreases in auditory hallucinations in some schizophrenic patients. This finding supports the hypothesis that the endorphins may play a roll in modulating hallucinations in a highly selected subgroup of chronically hallucinating schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1977

L-tryptophan administration in L-dopa-induced hallucinations in elderly Parkinsonian patients.

L-tryptophan (L-T) was added at a dose of 150-450 mg daily to eight Parkinsonian patients who developed visual hallucinations with paranoidal features under L-dopa (L-D) treatment (112.5-75 mg daily) in combination with alpha-methyldopa hydrazine (12.5-75 mg daily). In six patients L-T ameliorated the symptomatology by arresting the visual paranoidal hallucinations or diminishing their frequency and relieving the psychomotor agitation. As a 'side effect', L-T produced new 'pleasurable', 'LSD-like' visual images in three patients. In two patients, in whom L-T did not affect the mental disturbances, amelioration was obtained only by phenothiazines. Theoretical considerations on the role of dopamine in the genesis of visual hallucinations and mental disturbances emphasizes the benefit of L-T administration in this 'organomental' syndrome.

Aged↗

PubMed1975

A cognitive model of hallucinations.

Hallucinations occur in a wide variety of altered states of consciousnes and are an important symptom in various psychiatric syndromes. Several psychological and biological theories of their origin have offered, ranging from the concept of wish fulfillment, to the hypothesis of an electorchemical release of the perceptual system, to denials that hallucinatory phenomena exist. No explanation has completely satisfied clinicans, probably because the word "hallucination" labels a complex set of phenomena. The author accepts this complexity and offers a conceptual analysis of four key dimensions of the halucinatory experience in an attempt to clarify the gamut of experiences that may be called hallucinations.

Affective Symptoms↗

PubMed1978

Sociocultural factors in hallucinations.

Sociocultural factors affect both the definition and the sense organs involved in hallucinations. It is suggested that, in addition to the importance of audition in communication on the human level, other sociocultural factors may affect the choice of sense organs in the expression of hallucinatory experience. As compared with non-Western societies, Western attitudes consider hallucinations more shameful and frightening (symptoms of mental illness) and this tend to be more liable to concealment and chronicity. It is proposed that the psychoanalytical approached to the interpretation of dreams or behavioural techniques could be used to overcome the concomitants of Western attitudes toward hallucinations.

Attitude↗

PubMed1977

Hallucinations as a conversion reaction.

This clinical report describes a patient who experienced complex visual and auditory hallucinations as a conversion reaction. The evidence suggests that hallucinations as a conversion reaction are qualitatively different from other types of hallucinations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1976

Human EEG spectra before and during cannabis hallucinations.

EEG correlates of subjective experiences induced by delta9-trans-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and EEG correlates of individual disposition to such experiences were investigated. Twelve normal volunteers took 200 mug/kg THC orally. The subjects were asked to signal subjective experiences. The EEG was analyzed (period analysis) before and repeatedly after THC injestion, during resting, attention, eye closure, visual hallucinations, and body image disturbances. EEG frequency spectra differed significantly between resting and visual hallucinations and body image disturbances. The differences included slower alpha and more theta during THC experiences, reminiscent of initial drowsiness EEG, and of some results in schizophrenia. The differences between spectra during visual hallucinations and during body image disturbances indicate different functional brain states. Subjects with a high tendency to cannabinol induced experiences exhibited resting spectra before and after THC with higher modal alpha frequences (reminiscent of subjects with high neuroticism scores) than subjects with a low tendency.

Adult↗

PubMed1977

"Release hallucinations" as the major symptom of posterior cerebral artery occlusion: a report of 2 cases.

Visual hallucinations were the presenting symptoms in 2 patients with probable infarcts in the territory of a posterior cerebral artery. They occurred in areas of paracentral scotomas, right in Patient 1 and left in Patient 2. In Patient 1 they were formed, prolonged, and not apparently related to past experience. In Patient 2 they were at first paroxysmal and unformed, with more prolonged metamorphopsia; later there appeared to be palinoptic formed images, possibly postictal in nature. Such hallucinations appear to be of a "release" type, and may be more common than is generally appreciated in patients with posterior cerebral artery occlusion.

Adult↗

PubMed1979

Musical hallucinations in a deaf elderly patient.

A remarkably observant 89-year-old woman experienced the abrupt onset of musical hallucinations on the background of longstanding progressive hearing loss and in the absence of psychosis or major dementia. These hallucinations were nearly constant, wellformed perceptions of religious hymns, and their content could be altered by several mechanisms. The patient also occasionally heard voices recapitulating childhood experiences. One can speculate that the syndrome relates to sensory deprivation.

Aged↗