Hallucination
From Freepedia
A hallucination is a sensory perception experienced 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, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, or mixed.
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Origins of the word
The word 'hallucinatory' has its roots in the Latin hallucinere or allucinere, meaning 'to wander in mind'. The first usage of the word 'hallucination' in the English language is recorded as by the English physician Sir Thomas Browne in 1642. However, it was first used in its current sense by psychiatrist Jean-Etienne Esquirol in 1837.
Possible causes
Florid hallucinations are usually associated with drug use (particularly hallucinogenic drugs), sleep deprivation, psychosis or neurological illness.
However, studies have shown that hallucinatory experiences are common across the population as a whole. Previous studies, one as early as 1894[1], have reported that approximately 10% of the population experience hallucinations. A recent survey of over 13,000 people[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 waking up.
Auditory hallucinations (particularly of one or more talking voices) are particularly associated with psychotic disorders 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 neurotransmitter dopamine is thought to be particularly important[3].
Psychological research has argued that hallucinations may result from biases in what are known as metacognitive abilities[4]. These are abilities that allow us to monitor or draw inferences from our own internal psychological states (such as intentions, memories, beliefs and thoughts). The ability to discriminate between self-generated and external sources of information is 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 spirits or demons. For this reason, a hallucination may also be classified as an anomalous phenomenon, when no suitable scientific explanation is verified.
Value judgements of this definition
The term hallucination describes a value judgement by the scientific establishment that perceptions which are not based on physical sensory reality are essentially meaningless and of no value whatsoever. According to this viewpoint, there is nothing to be gained by choosing to experience hallucinations. Actively choosing to "see things that aren't there" is both a waste of time and perhaps a sign of mental imbalance.
An alternative view is that these perceptions can be a valuable source of creativity for artists and writers. In this perspective, a hallucination is just certain class of Visualization that is uncontrollable and overwhelms the experiencer.
Those who practice meditation can sometimes reach states of mind where such internal perceptions can be controlled and directed, rather than just simply being subject to them in an uncontrolled manner, as occurs for users of psychoactive chemicals or those with mental disorders.
Generally, the ability to percieve and direct internal visual and other sensory experiences which are not based on shared physical reality is a skill that has no place or purpose in Western society, and is instead considered more of a mental disorder to be eliminated or suppressed.
Internal perceptions not based on physical reality, and which do not overwhelm or cause an annoyance don't necessarily meet the critera of being a hallucination. But, at the same time such perceptions cannot be empiricly explored using normal scientific methods, since it is not possible for them to be verified or even directly experienced by an outside party.
See also
- Delusion
- Illusion
- Hallucinogenic drug
- LSD
- Psychosis
- Hearing Voices Movement
- Charles Bonnet Syndrome
- Folie a deux
- Closed-eye hallucination
External links
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.
Categories: Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants | Psychosis | Sign (medicine) | Symptoms | Forteana
