Origin and Mechanisms of Hallucinations Proceedings of the 14th Annu
Hallucinations, a natural phenomenon as old as mankind, have a surprisingly wide range. They appear under the most diversified conditions, in the "normal" psyche as well as in severe chronic mental derangement. As a symptom, hallucinations are a potential
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HALLUCINATIONS
Origin and Mechanisms of
HALLUCINATIONS Proceedings of the 14th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychiatric Research Association held in New York City, November 14-15,1969
Edited by WOLFRAM KEUP Research Institute Brooklyn State Hospital State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry Brooklyn, New York
~ SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC • 1970
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 71-139579 ISBN 978-1-4615-8647-0
ISBN 978-1-4615-8645-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-8645-6
© 1970 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press New York in 1970 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1790
All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher
INTRODUCTION
Hallucinations, a natural phenomenon as old as mankind, have a surprisingly wide range. They appear under the most diversified conditions, in the "normal" psyche as well as in severe chronic mental derangement. As a symptom, hallucinations are a potential part of a variety of pathological conditions in almost all kinds of psychotic behavior. In addition, lately, various psychological and sociological circumstances seem to favor widespread use and abuse of hallucinogens, substances able to produce hallucinations in the normal brain. They not rarely lead to serious psychopathology such as toxic, and mobilized or aggravated endogenous psychoses. While such development adds to our scientific knowledge, it also contributes to our current social troubles. Neurologists and neuro-surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists and other specialized researchers constantly have been dealing with the phenomenon, its roots and branches, and yet, its primary mechanisms are largely unknown. However, investigators of hallucinations now seem to enter common ground on which meaningful discussions and joint approaches become feasible and more promising. We have come a long way from the Latin term "hallucinari", meaning to talk nonsense, to be absent-minded, to the modern concept of "hallucinations". While the Latin word was descriptive of what may be due to hallucinations, the modern concept defines hallucinations as subjective experiences that are consequences of mental processes, sometimes fulfilling a purpose in the individual's mental life. And on we went beyond definition to the actual exploration of the causative factors of hallucinatory phenomena and their psychological and physiological mechanisms, trusting that one day we will reach a full understanding of the complex etiology of hallucinations. Sensory deprivation, chemical effects of psychopharmacological compounds, anatomical brain lesions and endogenous psychoses, REM sleep suppression, oxygen deficiency and many other conditions, all might lead to hallucinations. What a variety of instances! In fact, it would seem conceivable that hallucinations, with or without other
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IN'lRODUCTION
psychiatric symptoms, may be one of the very few
