Hallucination
hideA hallucination, in the broadest sense, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space. The latter definition distinguishes hallucinations from the related phenomena of dreaming, which does not involve wakefulness; illusion, which involves distorted or misinterpreted real perception; imagery, which does not mimic real perception and is under voluntary control; and pseudohallucination, which does not mimic real perception, but is not under voluntary control. Hallucinations also differ from "delusional perceptions", in which a correctly sensed and interpreted genuine perception is given some additional (and typically bizarre) significance.
Hallucinations can occur in any sensory modality — visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, proprioceptive, equilibrioceptive, nociceptive, and thermoceptive.
A mild form of hallucination is known as a disturbance, and can occur in any of the senses above. These may be things like seeing movement in peripheral vision, or hearing faint noises and voices.
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.
Hallucinations can also be associated with drug or alcohol use (particularly deliriants), sleep deprivation, psychosis, neurological disorders, and delirium tremens.
For more information about Hallucination, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with hallucinations
Hunting for the Prozac gene
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Prozac works wonders for some depressed people, but not for others. In some cases, patients derive little benefit and at worst, it can lead to bizarre hallucinations and fits of rage. Researchers and doctors remain puzzled ...
Smoking during pregnancy puts children at risk of psychotic symptoms
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 01, 2009 |
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Mothers who smoke during pregnancy put their children at greater risk of developing psychotic symptoms in their teenage years.
Seeing mental illness in a different light
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Sep 10, 2009 |
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Part of Tom Wootton's standard opening to his talks on mental illness is to pause, scan the audience and call for a show of hands.
Alterations in brain's white matter key to schizophrenia, study shows
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Jun 22, 2009 |
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Schizophrenia, a chronic and debilitating disorder marked in part by auditory hallucinations and paranoia, can strike in late adolescence or early adulthood at a time when people are ready to stand on their own two feet as ...
Children bullied at school at high risk of developing psychotic symptoms
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
May 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Children who are bullied at school over several years are up to four times more likely to develop psychotic-like symptoms by the time they reach early adolescence.
Increased symptoms lead mentally disordered to become victims of violence
Apr 14, 2009 |
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Contrary to common stereotypes, individuals with major mental disorders are more likely to become victims of violent crimes when they are experiencing an increase in symptoms than they are to commit crime, according to a ...
Childhood abuse associated with onset of psychosis in women
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Apr 01, 2009 |
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Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London have published new research which indicates that women with severe mental illness are more likely to have been abused in childhood that the general population. ...
Schizophrenia linked to signaling problems in new brain study
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Mar 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Schizophrenia could be caused by faulty signalling in the brain, according to new research published today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. In the biggest study of its kind, scientists lookin ...
High caffeine intake linked to hallucination proneness
Jan 14, 2009 |
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High caffeine consumption could be linked to a greater tendency to hallucinate, a new research study suggests.
Hallucinations in the flash of an eye
Sep 04, 2008 |
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Dominic H. ffytche at the Institute of Psychiatry in London reviews what we do know and moves the field forward, by introducing a new experimental approach to studying hallucinations as they occur.
