Translate

Search the site

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Alice In Wonderland Syndrome

A disorienting neurological condition that affects human perception. Sufferers may experience micropsiamacropsia, or size distortion of other sensory modalities. A temporary condition, it is often associated with migrainesbrain tumors, and the use of psychoactive drugs. It can also present as the initial sign of the Epstein-Barr Virus ( mononucleosis)

Signs and symptoms

For the AIWS sufferer, the eye components are entirely physically normal. The AIWS involves a change in perception as opposed to a malfunction of the eyes themselves. The hallmark sign of AIWS is a migraine, and AIWS may in part be caused by the migraine. AIWS affects the sufferer's sense of vision, sensation, touch, and hearing, as well as one's own body image.
A prominent and often disturbing symptom is that of altered body image: the sufferer may find that he or she is confused as to the size and shape of parts of (or all of) his/her body. Alice in Wonderland syndrome involves perceptual distortions of the size or shape of objects. Other possible causes and/or signs of association with the syndrome are migraines, use of hallucinogenic drugs, and infectious mononucleosis. 
Also, patients with certain neurological diseases have experienced similar visual hallucinations.  These hallucinations are called "Lilliputian," which means that objects appear either smaller or larger than they actually are.
Patients may either experience micropsia or macropsia. Micropsia is an abnormal condition of sight where the person sees objects smaller than they are when hallucinating. Macropsia is a condition where the individual sees everything larger than it actually is.

Youtube Videos:

Alice in Wonderland syndrome