Alice in Wonderland syndrome
Alice-in-Wonderland syndrome (AIWS, named after the novel written by Lewis Carroll), also known as Todd's syndrome[1] or lilliputian hallucinations, is a disorienting neurological condition that affects human perception. Sufferers may experience micropsia, macropsia, or size distortion of other sensory modalities. A temporary condition, it is often associated with migraines, brain tumors, and the use of psychoactive drugs. It can also present as the initial sign of the Epstein-Barr Virus (see mononucleosis).[2] Anecdotal reports suggest that the symptoms of AIWS are fairly common in childhood,[citation needed] with many people growing out of them in their teens. It appears that AIWS is also a common experience at sleep onset. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome can be caused by abnormal amounts of electrical activity causing abnormal blood flow in the parts of the brain that process visual perception and texture.[3]
Epidemiology
Alice-in-Wonderland sufferers range from age of childhood to early or late 20s. Some people still have it in their 70s.
History
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (micropsia and macropsia) is experienced after ingestion of muscimol. The famous hallucinogenic red and white toadstool that Alice from Alice in Wonderland eats is Amanita muscaria or Fly Agaric, which contains the psychoactive alkaloid muscimol.
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is also sometimes referred to as Todd’s syndrome because it was first documented by John Todd in 1955. John Todd was a British psychiatrist working in Yorkshire. Todd discovered that several patients under his care experienced severed migraine headaches causing them to see and perceive objects greatly out of proportion. They suffered from altered sense of time and touch, as well as distorted looks of their own body images. Besides migraine headaches, none of these patients had brain tumors, damage to eyesight, or mental illnesses that can cause similar symptoms; they were all able to think lucidly and could distinguish hallucinations from reality. It was all about skewed senses of perception.[4] Since Lewis Carroll was a well-known migraine sufferer with similar symptoms, John Todd speculated that Carroll had used his own migraine experiences as a source of inspiration for his famous novel “Alice’s adventure in Wonderland” published in 1865. Carroll’s diary entries reveal that in 1856, he has consulted William Bowman, one of the most eminent ophthalmologists of his time about the visual manifestation of migraine he regularly exhibited.[5] Since Lewis Carroll suffered from these symptoms of migraine years before writing “Alice’s adventure in Wonderland”, it is reasonable to presume that Carroll used his experiences as inspirations to give a profound meaning to his art. In 1995, John Todd successfully described coined the name for the syndrome in Canadian Medical Association Journal.[6]
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.[citation needed] 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. [7]
Also, patients with certain neurological diseases have experienced similar visual hallucinations. [8] These hallucinations are called "Lilliputian," which means that objects appear either smaller or larger than they actually are.[9]
Patients may experience either micropsia or macropsia. Micropsia is an abnormal visual condition, usually occurring in the context of visual hallucination, in which affected persons see objects as being smaller than those objects actually are. [10] Macropsia is a condition where the individual sees everything larger than it actually is.[11]
One theory is that patients with Alice in Wonderland syndrome were associated with infectious mononucleosis. Neuroimaging studies have not revealed any link, and the relationship (if any) between the syndrome and mononucleosis remains unknown.[12] One 17-year-old male described his odd symptoms. He said, "quite suddenly objects appear small and distant (teliopsia) or large and close (peliopsia). I feel as I am getting shorter and smaller "shrinking" and also the size of persons are not longer than my index finger (a lilliputian proportion). Sometimes I see the blind in the window or the television getting up and down, or my leg or arm is swinging. I may hear the voices of people quite loud and close or faint and far. Occasionally, I experience attacks of migrainous headache associated with eye redness, flashes of lights and a feeling of giddiness. I am always conscious to the intangible changes in myself and my environment." [13]
The eyes themselves are normal, but the sufferer 'sees' objects with the wrong size or shape or finds that perspective is incorrect. This can mean that people, cars, buildings, etc., look smaller or larger than they should be, or that distances look incorrect; for example a corridor may appear to be very long, or the ground may appear too close.
The sufferer may also lose a sense of time, a problem similar to the lack of spatial perspective. That is, time seems to pass very slowly, akin to an LSD experience. The lack of time, and space, perspective leads to a distorted sense of velocity. For example, one could be inching along ever so slowly in reality, yet it would seem as if one were sprinting uncontrollably along a moving walkway, leading to severe, overwhelming disorientation. This can then cause the sufferer to feel as if movement, even within his or her own home, is futile.
In addition, some people may, in conjunction with a high fever, experience more intense and overt hallucinations, seeing things that are not there and misinterpreting events and situations.
Other minor or less common symptoms may include loss of limb control and general dis-coordination, memory loss, lingering touch and sound sensations, and emotional experiences.[14]
Diagnosis
AIWS is a disturbance of perception rather than a specific physiological change to the body's systems. The diagnosis can be presumed when other physical causes have been ruled out and if the patient presents symptoms along with migraines and complains of onset during the day (although it can occur at night). Another symptom of AIWS is sound distortion, such as every little movement making a clattering sound. This can make a person with AIWS paranoid and afraid to move.
Treatment
Treatment is the same as that for other migraine prophylaxis: anticonvulsants, antidepressants, beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers. Chronic Alice In Wonderland Syndrome is untreatable and must wear itself out. Rest is the prime treatment, but another effective therapy is to join support groups to share experiences.
Prognosis
Whatever the cause, the distortions can recur several times a day and may take some time to abate. Understandably, the sufferer can become alarmed, frightened, even panic-stricken. The symptoms of the syndrome themselves are not harmful and likely to disappear with time. The condition is not contagious, and rest is the best treatment.
See also
References
- ^ Longmore, Murray (2007). Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. Oxford. p. 686. ISBN 0-19-856837-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help), - ^ Cinbis M, Aysun S (1992). "Alice in Wonderland syndrome as an initial manifestation of Epstein-Barr virus infection". Br J Ophthalmol. 76 (5): 316. doi:10.1136/bjo.76.5.316. PMC 504267. PMID 1390519.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Feldman, Caroline (April 7 2008). "A Not So Pleasant Fairy Tale: Investigating Alice in Wonderland Syndrome". Serendip. Serendip Studio, Bryn Mawr College. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ DEA, Servizio. "The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome". PubMed. Retrieved 9/15/2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Martin, R. "Through the Looking Glass, Another Look at Migraine" (PDF). Retrieved 09/15/2013.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Todd, John (1955). "The syndrome of Alice in Wonderland". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 73 (9): 701-704. PMID PMC1826192. Retrieved 9/15/2013.
{{cite journal}}: Check|pmid=value (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Alice in Wonderland syndrome." Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. Philadelphia: F.A.Davis Company, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Alice in Wonderland syndrome." Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, & Health Professions. Philadelphia: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 24 September 2012.
- ^ "Hallucinations." The Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science. Hoboken: Wiley, 2004. Credo Reference. Web. 24 September 2012.
- ^ "micropsia." Mosby's Emergency Dictionary. Philadelphia: Elsevier Health Sciences, 1998. Credo Reference. Web. 24 September 2012.
- ^ "macropsia". Collins English Dictionary. London: Collins, 2000. Credo Reference. Web. 24 September 2012.
- ^ Lahat, E (1999). "Abnormal visual evoked potentials in children with "Alice in Wonderland" syndrome due to infectious mononucleosis". Journal of Child Neurology. 14 (11): 732–5.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Hamed, Sherifa (1/6/2010). "A migraine variant with abdominal colic and Alice in wonderland syndrome: a case report and review". doi:10.1186/1471-2377-10-2.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." h2g2. 21 09 2009: n. page. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/A56993016>.