Articles Related to Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory

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Studies of Hallucinations in Normals and Children

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Visual Hallucinations and Sensory Delusions in the Elderly
Berrios, G. E., Brook, P.
British Journal of Psychiatry, June 1984, 144, 662–664
One hundred and fifty successive referrals to a psychogeriatrician were assessed for visual hallucinations. Forty-four (29.33 per cent) patients reported visual perceptual disturbances. No differences between hallucinators and non-hallucinators were found in terms of sex, age, length of illness, underlying psychiatric diagnosis or cognitive score. There was a significant correlation between presence of hallucinations and eye pathology (less than .001) and delusions (less than .001). The phenomenological characteristics of the visual hallucinations are analyzed. The "picture" sign is described in 7 patients and the Charles Bonnet syndrome in two. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Hallucinatory Experiences in Extreme-Altitude Climbers
Brugger, Peter; Regard, Marianne; Landis, Theodor; Oelz, Oswald
Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, & Behavioral Neurology, Jan. 1999, 12 (1), 67–71
This study attempted a systematic investigation of incidence, type, and circumstances of anomalous perceptual experiences in a highly specialized group of healthy subjects, extreme-altitude climbers. BACKGROUND: There is anecdotal evidence for a high incidence of anomalous perceptual experiences during mountain climbing at high altitudes. METHOD: In a structured interview, we asked eight world-class climbers, each of whom has reached altitudes above 8500 m without supplementary oxygen, about hallucinatory experiences during mountain climbing at various altitudes. A comprehensive neuropsychological, electroencephalographic, and magnetic resonance imaging evaluation was performed within a week of the interview (8). RESULTS: All but one subject reported somesthetic illusions (distortions of body scheme) as well as visual and auditory pseudohallucinations (in this order of frequency of occurrence). A disproportionately large number of experiences above 6000 m as compared to below 6000 m were reported (relative to the total time spent at these different altitudes). Solo climbing and (in the case of somesthetic illusions) life-threatening danger were identified as probable triggers for anomalous perceptual experiences. No relationship between the number of reported experiences and neuropsychological impairment was found. Abnormalities in electroencephalographic (3 climbers) and magnetic resonance imaging (2 climbers) findings were likewise unrelated to the frequency of reported hallucinatory experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm earlier anecdotal evidence for a considerable incidence of hallucinatory experiences during climbing at high altitudes. Apart from hypoxia, social deprivation and acute stress seem to play a role in the genesis of these experiences.

Visual and Auditory Hallucinations in A Psychologically Normal Woman
Chedru F, Feldman F, Ameri A, Sales J, Roth M.
Lancet, Sept. 28 1996, 348(9031):896

Independent Course of Childhood Auditory Hallucinations: A Sequential 3-year Follow-up Study
Escher, S., Romme, M., Buiks, A., Delespaul, P., and Van Os, J.
The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2002, 181: s10-s18
BACKGROUND: Childhood hallucinations of voices occur in a variety of contexts and have variable long-term outcomes. AIM: To study the course of experience of voices sequentially over a 3-year period in those with and those without a need for mental health care (patient status). METHOD: In a group of 80 children of mean age 12.9 years (s.d.=3.1), of which around 50% were not receiving mental health care, baseline measurement of voice characteristics, voice attributions, psychopathology, stressful life events, coping mechanisms and receipt of professional care were used to predict 3-year course and patient status. RESULTS: The rate of voice discontinuation over the 3-year period was 60%. Patient status was associated with more perceived influence on behaviour and feelings and more negative affective appraisals in relation to the voices. Predictors of persistence of voices were severity and frequency of the voices, associated anxiety/depression and lack of clear triggers in time and place. CONCLUSIONS: Need for care in the context of experience of voices is associated with appraisal of the voices in terms of intrusiveness and ‘omnipotence’. Persistence of voices is related to voice appraisals, suggesting that experience of voices by children should be the target of specific interventions.

Auditory and Visual Hallucinations in University Students
Feelgood, S. R. and Rantzen, A. J.
Personality and Individual Differences, 1994, Vol. 17 (2): 293-296
One-hundred and thirty-six univeristy students were administered the Launay-Slade Hallucination Scale (LSHS). Low and high scorers then completed a visual and an auditory task that utilized non-hypnotic suggestion and ambiguous stimuli. The high LSHS group reported a significantly greater number of meaningful visual and auditory experiences in response to the ambiguous stimulation. It is argued that these phenomena are hallucinations and demonstrate the possibility of researching hallucinations in non-psychotic populations in a laboratory setting.

Hallucinatory Experiences at High Altitude
Garrido, Eduardo; Javierre, Casimiro; Ventura, Josep L; Segura, Ramon
Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, & Behavioral Neurology, April 2000, 13 (2), 148–148

Auditory Hallucinations Following Near-Death Experiences
Greyson, B. and Liester, M.B.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 2004, 44: 320-336
Among persons who reported having had near-death experiences, 80% also reported subsequent auditory hallucinations. Experiencers’ attitudes toward these hallucinations were over-whelmingly positive, as contrasted with the overwhelmingly negative attitudes of patients with schizophrenia toward their auditory hallucinations. Auditory hallucinations not related to disease processes are common and may be highly valued by those who hear them.

Hallucinations Following the Loss of a Spouse: Common and Normal Events Among the Elderly
Grimby, Agneta
Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 1998, Vol. 4 (1): 65-74
In a widowhood intervention study of elderly Swedish citizens, ratings of grief reactions showed a high proportion of postbereavement hallucinations and illusions. Most common was the feeling that the deceased was present (illusion). Claiming to speak to, and to hear and see the dead spouse (hallucinations) was rather common. Very few had tactile hallucinations. Former marital harmony, loneliness, and severe crying are related to the incidence of hallucinations/illusions. Subjects had a dualistic attitude to the phenomena, as they were considered ridiculous sensations, but a pleasant and comforting rendezvous with the lost beloved one.

A Study of Manifestations of Hallucinations in a Non-Psychiatric Population of Caribbean Descent
Izquierdo, A. M.
Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences & Engineering, Dec. 2000, 61(5-B), 2764

Commentary Hallucination in the Elderly: Three Case Reports
Kobayashi, T., Kato, S., Osawa, T., Shioda, K.
Psychogeriatrics, September 2004, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 96-101(6)
Three elderly females with commentary hallucinations are presented. Here, the term ‘commentary hallucination’ is used as a comprehensive term describing a condition where the subject hears voices that comment on, command, or describe the subject's actions or behavior. According to the DSM-IV, the three cases presented here met the criteria for a psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, a schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia, respectively. All three cases showed no evidence of abnormalities when examined using neuroimaging techniques but might have had some senile brain changes that were under the threshold of the neuroimaging studies. Although the commentary hallucinations in the three patients were not distinctively different from the hallucinations that are characteristic of schizophrenia, the subjects were able to keep some distance from the hallucinations; in other words, the hallucinations were not ego-invasive. The commentary hallucinations in the present patients might be explained as resulting from exhaustion caused by stressful life events, subtle senile organic brain changes, and a subsequent decline in psychological tension. These hallucinations may have originated from the pathological appearance of a background-inner speech accompanying the patients’ behavior.

Hallucinatory Experiences in Nonpsychotic Children
Kotsopoulos, S., Kanigsberg, J., Cote, A., Fiedorowicz, C.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, May 1987, 26 (3), 375–380

A Study of Hallucinations in Normal Subjects
McCreery, C. and Claridge, G.
Personality and Individual Differences, 1996, 21 (5): 739-747
A group of 20 subjects who reported previously experiencing at least one ‘out-of-the-body’ experience (OBE) and a group of 20 matched controls attempted to induce OBEs in the laboratory under conditions of mild sensory limitation and physical relaxation. As predicted, the OBErs were more prone than controls to report hallucinations and involuntary imagery in this situation. The reporting of anomalous perceptual experiences was also positively correlated with scores on schizotypy scales, which measure the incidence of ‘positive’ symptomatology at a sub-clinical level. The results are interpreted in terms of a model of the ‘happy schizotype’—a relatively well-adjusted person who is functional despite, and in some cases even because of, his or her anomalous perceptual experiences.

Auditory Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children: Diagnostic Considerations
Mertin P., Hartwig, S.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health, February 2004, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 9-14(6)
BACKGROUND: Auditory hallucinations in childhood and adolescence are not necessarily an indication of psychosis, but are more frequently associated with a range of other mental health problems. Although not specifically linked to abuse as an aetiological factor, the literature reporting on hallucinations in children alludes to a range of family dysfunction and disruption. METHOD: This study reports on the auditory hallucinations of 13 children referred to a community-based child and family mental health service exhibiting a variety of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The presence of the hallucinations was generally revealed during the course of the initial assessment. RESULTS: None of the children were considered psychotic at initial presentation; however, all were experiencing high levels of stress and/or anxiety in their lives. Following the initial assessments children were given diagnoses ranging from generalised anxiety disorder, through adjustment disorder, to posttraumatic stress disorder. The hallucinations gradually disappeared over the course of therapy. Two case studies describe the hallucinations and family histories in more detail. CONCLUSIONS: The present study adds further confirmation of the presence of auditory hallucinations in nonpsychotic children. The clinical presentation of the children in the present study indicates an association between hallucinations and high levels of stress and anxiety, suggesting that mental health professionals should enquire more routinely about auditory hallucinations, particularly with those children from abusive and violent backgrounds.

Psychotic Symptoms in an Urban General Medicine Practice
Olfson, M., Lewis-Fernandez, R., Weissman, M., Feder, A., Gamerof, M., Pilowsky, D., and Fuentes, M. American Journal of Psychiatry, August 2002, 159: 1412 - 1419
OBJECTIVE: The authors’ goals were to estimate the prevalence of psychotic symptoms among adults attending an urban general medical practice that serves a low-income population and to describe the mental health, social and occupational functioning, and mental health treatment of these patients. METHOD: Data were drawn from a recent study of adult primary care patients (N=1,005) in a large, urban, university-affiliated general medicine practice. During a medical visit, patients completed the psychotic disorders section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders, a drug use disorders screen, the Sheehan Disability Scale, and a questionnaire that probed demographic characteristics, health status, and mental health treatment. RESULTS: Two hundred ten (20.9%) patients reported one or more psychotic symptoms, most commonly auditory hallucinations. There was an inverse correlation between family income and the prevalence of psychotic symptoms and a positive association between prevalence and Hispanic ethnicity. Compared with patients without psychotic symptoms, patients with psychotic symptoms were significantly more likely to have major depression (42.4% versus 12.6%), panic disorder (24.8% versus 4.0%), generalized anxiety disorder (38.6% versus 8.4%), and alcohol use disorder (12.9% versus 5.0%). They were also more likely to report current suicidal ideation (20.0% versus 3.5%), recent work loss (55.0% versus 35.6%), and marital distress (28.6% versus 13.0%). Approximately one-half of the patients with psychotic symptoms (47.6%) had taken a prescribed psychotropic medication during the last month. CONCLUSIONS: Psychotic symptoms were highly prevalent in this primary care practice. These patients were at risk for several common mental disorders and often reported impaired work and social functioning. Future research should clarify the extent to which psychotic symptom reports among Hispanic patients are affected by culturally patterned idioms of distress. Clinicians who work in primary care practices that serve low-income patient populations should routinely inquire about psychotic symptoms.

Auditory Hallucinations in Normal Child Populations
Pearson, D., Burrow, A., FitzGerald, C., Green, K., Lee, G., Wise, N.
Personality & Individual Differences, Aug. 2001, Special Issue, 31(3), 401–407

Hallucinations in A Normal Population: Imagery and Personality Influences
Rodrigo, A.M.L., Pineiro, M.M.P., Suarez, P.C.M., Caro, M.I., and Giraldez, S.L.
Psychology in Spain, 1997, Vol. 1. No 1, 10-16
The present study was designed to gather data related to the continuum hypothesis of hallucinations. According to this hypothesis, hallucinations can be considered to be one end of a continuum of normal conscious experience that include vivid imagery, daydreams, and thoughts. Subjects were 222 college students who anonymously completed the Hallucination Questionnaire (Barrett and Etheridge, 1994), the Betts QMI Vividness of Imagery Scale (Richardson, 1969), and Millon’s Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II) (Millon, 1983). The results suggest that hallucinators have more vivid imagery and higher scores on most Millon’s Inventory scales compared to non-hallucinators. Nevertheless, a normal distribution of the hallucinatory experiences was not found, which casts doubt on their dimensional nature.

Coping with Hearing Voices: An Emancipatory Approach
Romme, M.A.J., Honig, A., Noorthoorn, E.O. and Escher, A.D.M.A.C.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 1992, 161, 99-103
A questionnaire comprising 30 open-ended questions was sent to 450 people with chronic hallucinations of hearing voices who had responded to a request on television. Of the 254 replies, 186 could be used for analysis. It was doubtful whether 13 of these respondents were experiencing true hallucinations. Of the remaining 173 subjects, 115 reported an inability to cope with the voices. Ninety-seven respondents were in psychiatric care, and copers were significantly less often in psychiatric care (24%) than non-copers (49%). Four coping strategies were apparent: distraction, ignoring the voices, selective listening to them, and setting limits on their influence.

Hearing Voices
Romme, M. and Escher, S.
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1989, 15, 209-216.

Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children: More Common Than We Think?
Schreier, H. A.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, May 1999, 38 (5), 623–625

Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children
Vickers, B., Garralda, E.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Sept. 2000, 39 (9), 1073