Journal
JOURNAL OF NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 2, Pages 109-113Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1097/00041327-200406000-00003
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Funding
- NCRR NIH HHS [M01 RR01032] Funding Source: Medline
- NEI NIH HHS [R01EY12091] Funding Source: Medline
- NIMH NIH HHS [MH-13923, MH60734, MH-48832] Funding Source: Medline
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The authors report the occurrence of visual hallucinations of varying complexity in 13 normal subjects after sudden, complete, and prolonged visual deprivation. The subjects were all healthy individuals with no history of cognitive dysfunction, psychosis, or ocular pathology. They wore a specially designed blindfold for a period of five consecutive days (96 hours) and were asked to record their daily experiences using a hand-held microcassette recorder. Ten (77%) of the subjects reported visual hallucinations, which were both simple (bright spots of light) and complex (faces, landscapes, ornate objects). The onset of hallucinations was generally after the first day of blindfolding. Subjects were insightful as to their unreal nature. These results indicate that rapid and complete visual deprivation is sufficient to induce visual hallucinations in normal subjects.
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