Articles Related to Jaynes's Bicameral Mind Theory
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Studies of Hallucinations in Normal (Non-Psychotic) Adults and Children
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Visual Hallucinations and Sensory Delusions in the Elderly
Berrios, G. E., and P. Brook. 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, Marianne Regard, Theodor Landis, and Oswald Oelz. 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., F. Feldman, A. Ameri, J. Sales, and M. Roth. Lancet, Sept. 28 1996, 348(9031):896.
Hallucinations in Children and Adolescents: Considerations in the Emergency Setting
Edelsohn, Gail. American Journal of Psychiatry, May 2006, Vol. 163:781-785.
Independent Course of Childhood Auditory Hallucinations: A Sequential 3-year Follow-up Study
Escher, S., M. Romme, A. Buiks, P. Delespaul, and J. Van Os. 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 A. J. Rantzen. 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.
Imaginary Companions and Young Children's Responses to Ambiguous Auditory Stimuli: Implications for Typical and Atypical Development
Fernyhough, Charles, Kirsten Bland, Elizabeth Meins, and Max Coltheart. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2007, Vol. 48, Issue 11, pgs. 1094-1101.
Background: Previous research has reported a link between imaginary companions (ICs) in middle childhood and the perception of verbal material in ambiguous auditory stimuli. These findings have been interpreted in terms of commonalities in the cognitive processes underlying children's engagement with ICs and adults' reporting of imaginary verbal experiences such as auditory verbal hallucinations. The aim of the present study was to examine these relations using improved methodology and a younger sample of children for whom engagement with ICs would be expected to be particularly salient. Method: Data on young children's (age range: 4–8 years) reporting of ICs were gathered in two studies (total N = 80). Responses to ambiguous auditory stimuli were investigated using the new Jumbled Speech task, which measures participants' likelihood of perceiving words in meaningless but speech-like auditory stimuli. Results: Reporting hearing words in the Jumbled Speech task was associated with having a parentally corroborated IC. Hearing words on the task and having an IC were unrelated to age, gender, verbal ability, and understanding of the stream of consciousness. Conclusions: Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that engaging with ICs is one aspect of a general susceptibility to imaginary verbal experiences. We consider the implications for the assumption of continuity in psychopathological experiences between childhood and adulthood.
Hallucinatory Experiences at High Altitude
Garrido, Eduardo, Casimiro Javierre, Josep L. Ventura, and Ramon Segura. Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, & Behavioral Neurology, April 2000, 13 (2), 148–148.
Auditory Hallucinations Following Near-Death Experiences
Greyson, B. and M.B. Liester. 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., S. Kato, T. Osawa, and K. Shioda. 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., J. Kanigsberg, A. Cote, C. Fiedorowicz. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, May 1987, 26 (3), 375–380.
Eleven children who experienced hallucinations were assessed and treated. The psychiatric diagnosis varied, but most children presented mood disturbance, mainly anxiety. Their level of adaptive functioning was substantially impaired. The children were either socially inept or withdrawn. The hallucinations were associated mostly with bedtime and sleep phenomena. In the absence of other symptoms of psychosis no diagnosis of psychosis could be made. The hallucinations ceased early in the course of the treatment in nine children.
Auditory Hallucinations in "Non-Psychotic" Children
Levin, Max. American Journal of Psychiatry, May 1932, 88:1119-1152.
Four cases are presented of boys who had true auditory hallucinations. The boys were "non-psychotic," in the sense that they showed no acute psychotic disturbances, differing in this respect from the vast majority of the cases already recorded—cases which concern children who develop unmistakably psychotic states with hallucinations, usually at puberty. Altogether 24 episodes were reported by these boys. The episodes are recorded in detail, attention being given to setting, content, etc.
A Study of Hallucinations in Normal Subjects
McCreery, C. and G. Claridge. 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.
Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children
McGee, Rob, Sheila Williams, and Richie Poulton. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2000, Vol. 39, No. 1, pgs. 12-13.
Auditory Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children: Diagnostic Considerations
Mertin P. and S. Hartwig. 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.
Auditory Hallucinations: Psychotic Symptom or Dissociative Experience?
Moskowitz, Andrew and Dirk Corstens. Journal of Psychological Trauma, Volume 6, Issue 2 & 3, January 2008, pgs. 35-63.
While auditory hallucinations are considered a core psychotic symptom, central to the diagnosis of schizophrenia, it has long been recognized that persons who are not psychotic may also hear voices. There is an entrenched clinical belief that distinctions can be made between these groups, typically, on the basis of the perceived location or the 'third-person' perspective of the voices. While it is generally believed that such characteristics of voices have significant clinical implications, and are important in the differential diagnosis between dissociative and psychotic disorders, there is no research evidence in support of this. Voices heard by persons diagnosed schizophrenic appear to be indistinguishable, on the basis of their experienced characteristics, from voices heard by persons with dissociative disorders or by persons with no mental disorder at all. On this and other bases outlined in this article, we argue that hearing voices should be considered a dissociative experience, which under some conditions may have pathological consequences. In other words, we believe that, while voices may occur in the context of a psychotic disorder, they should not be considered a psychotic symptom.
Psychotic Symptoms in an Urban General Medicine Practice
Olfson, M., R. Lewis-Fernandez, M. Weissman, A. Feder, M. Gamerof, D. Pilowsky, and M. Fuentes. 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, David, Andrea Burrow, Christina FitzGerald, Kate Green, Gary Lee, and Nicola Wise. Personality & Individual Differences, Aug. 2001, Special Issue, 31(3), 401–407.
It has been accepted for some time that normal adult populations can report hallucinatory experiences. Such experiences can be generated in the laboratory setting. The current study was based upon methodology used by Feelgood and Rantzen (Feelgood, S. R., & Rantzen, A. J. (1994). Auditory and visual hallucinations in university students. Personality and Individual Differences, 17(2), 293–296), that exposed adult participants to ambiguous stimuli which in turn generated hallucinatory experiences. The current study used similar methodology, but applied to child participants, which yielded similar results. The results suggested a developmental continuum of hallucination experiences between children and adults. The implication of this is that children can experience hallucinations in a similar way to adults. Links between childhood imaginary companions and hallucinatory experiences were also suggested.
Hallucinations in A Normal Population: Imagery and Personality Influences
Rodrigo, A.M.L., M.M.P. Pineiro, P.C.M. Suarez, M.I. Caro, and S.L. Giraldez. 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., A. Honig, E.O. Noorthoorn, and A.D.M.A.C. Escher. 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 S. Escher. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 1989, 15, 209-216.
An experiment is described in which people with auditory hallucinations were brought into contact with each other. On an evening television talk show, a patient — diagnosed several times as having schizophrenia — talked about her voices. Four hundred and fifty people who also were hearing voices reacted to the program by telephone. A questionnaire was sent to those who responded to the television program in order to get more information about their way of coping with the vocies. From those who filled out the questionnaire, 20 people were selected who explained their experiences in a clear way. A meeting for people hearing voices was organized, and the 20 persons were invited to become the speakers. In this article the experiences described by the participants are reported as well as the many ways in which they coped with these experiences.
Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children: More Common Than We Think?
Schreier, Herbert A. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, May 1999, 38 (5), 623–625.
Hallucinations have been described in a variety of childhood psychiatric conditions, and although considered by some to be synonymous with psychopathology, they may also be found in healthy children. There is reason to believe that hallucinations are underreported in both clinical and nonclinical populations. The National Institute of Mental Health Epidemiulogical Catchment Area study, cited by Fennig et al. (1997), found that 2.8% of adults reported hallucinating before they were 21 years old. Our knowledge of the nature and consequences of hallucinations in childhood is biased by the populations in which they have been studied, and we often do not know whether our patients hallucinate because we do not ask. Furer et al. (1957) found that children were only mildly reluctant to talk about voices they heard, and in their study of a group of child psychiatric inpatients they reported that the children's long-term therapists rarely knew about the hallucinations!
Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children and Adolescents
Simonds, John F. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1975, Vol. 4, No. 2, pgs. 171-182.
The case histories of ten nonpsychotic patients (nine female and one male) who had experienced hallucinations are summarized. Significant anxiety and depression were found in the majority of the patients, five of whom expressed suicidal ideas. Stress factors were primarily family and school. Eight children had combined auditory and visual hallucinations, which involved dead relatives in five cases. The aims or purposes of the hallucinations were multiple, but escape mechanisms were most common. A profile of the nonpsychotic patient most likely to experience hallucinations would be a socially immature teenage girl who is experiencing depression and anxiety due to stress within the family.
Hallucinations in Nonpsychotic Children
Vickers, Bea and Elena Garralda. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Sept. 2000, 39 (9), 1073.
