Hallucination

A hallucination is a sensory perceptionexperienced in the absence of an external stimulus, as distinct from an illusion, which is a misperception of an external stimulus. Hallucinations may occur in any sensory modality - visual, auditory, olfaction, gustatory, tactile, or mixed.

Origins of the word

The word 'hallucinatory' has its roots in the Latin hallucinere or allucinere, meaning 'to wander in mind'. Altenatively in the Greek ????????, (haluskein), meaning flee from, shun, avoid, escape. The first usage of the word 'hallucination' in the English language is recorded as by the English physicianSir Thomas Brownein 1642. However, it was first used in its current sense by psychiatristJean-Etienne Esquirolin 1837.

Possible causes

Florid hallucinations are usually associated with druguse (particularly hallucinogenic drugs), sleep deprivation, psychosisor neurological illness.

However, studies have shown that hallucinatory experiences take place across the population as a whole. Previous studies, one as early as 1894^{[{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME}}#endnote_1]}, have reported that approximately 10% of the population experience hallucinations. A recent survey of over 13,000 people^{[{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME}}#endnote_2]} reported a much higher figure with almost 39% of people reported hallucinatory experiences, 27% of which reported daytime hallucinations, mostly outside the context of illness or drug use. From this survey, olfactory(smell) and gustatory(taste) hallucinations seem the most common in the general population.

Hypnagogic hallucinations and hypnopompic hallucinations are considered normal phenomena. Hypnagogic hallucinations can occur as one is falling asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations occur when one is waking up.

Auditoryhallucinations (particularly of one or more talking voices) are particularly associated with psychoticdisorders such as schizophrenia, and hold special significance in diagnosing these conditions. This does not mean that the experience of 'hearing voices' is necessarily a sign of mental illness, and many people may have these or similar hallucinations without ever becoming impaired or distressed in any way.

Various theories have been put forward to explain the occurrence of hallucinations. When psychodynamic(Freudian) theories were popular in psychiatry, hallucinations were seen as a projection of unconscious wishes and desires. As biological theories have become orthodox, hallucinations are more often thought of (by psychiatrists at least) as being caused by functional deficits in the brain. With reference to mental illness, the function (or dysfunction) of the neurotransmitterdopamineis thought to be particularly important^{[{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME}}#endnote_3]}.

Psychologicalresearch has argued that hallucinations may result from biases in what are known as metacognitiveabilities^{[{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME}}#endnote_4]}. These are abilities that allow us to monitor or draw inferences from our own internal psychological states (such as intentions, memories, beliefsand thoughts). The ability to discriminate between self-generated and external sources of informationis considered to be an important metacognitive skill and one which may break down to cause hallucinatory experiences.

A rarely expressed but persistent alternate explanation of hallucinations, espoused by non-materialists, is that people prone to hallucinations can sometimes perceive non-physical phenomena such as angels, visions or the voices of departed spiritsor demons. For this reason, a hallucination may also be classified as an anomalous phenomenon, when no suitable scientific explanation is verified.

See also

• Delusion
• Illusion
• Hallucinogenic drug
• LSD
• Psychosis
• Hearing Voices Movement
• Charles Bonnet Syndrome
• Folie a deux
• Closed eye hallucinations
• Form constant

External links

• Hearing Voices Network
• Visual hallucinations during migraine
• Difference between Hallucination and Illusion

Further reading

The Anatomy of Hallucinations by Fred H. Johnson, Nelson-Hall, 1978

References

• ^ Sidgewick, H., Johnson, A, Myers, FWH et al (1894) Report on the census of hallucinations. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, 34, 25-394.
  
• ^ Ohayon MM. (2000)Prevalence of hallucinations and their pathological associations in the general population. Psychiatry Research, 97(2-3), 153-64.
  
• ^ Kapur S. (2003)Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(1), 13-23.
  
• ^ Bentall RP. (1990)The illusion of reality: a review and integration of psychological research on hallucinations. Psychological Bulletin, 107(1), 82-95.
  cs:Halucinace

da:Hallucination de:Halluzination es:Alucinación fr:Hallucination ga:Bréagchéadfa it:Allucinazione he:???? lb:Halluzinatioun mk:???????????? nl:Hallucinatie ja:?? pl:Halucynacja fi:Harha-aistimus sv:Hallucination tr:Halüsinasyon zh:?? ru:????????????

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucination Wikipedia article Hallucination.