Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
| Classification according to ICD-10 | |
|---|---|
| H53.1 | Subjective visual disturbances |
| ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019) | |
As Alice in Wonderland syndrome one is syndrome refers to themselves or their environment in which people hallucinatory experience a change in fashion. The phenomenon is not considered to be a disease in its own right , but mostly occurs as a side effect of a migraine attack or as a harbinger of an epileptic attack in the form of an aura with pronounced visual perception disorders. Alice in Wonderland syndrome can also be caused by the Epstein-Barr virus or drugs .
Origin of the term
The term "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome" was named after the children's book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and coined by John Todd as a possible, but not essential, side effect of migraines and epilepsy. Carroll himself suffered from migraines , it is believed that his experiences with the ailment served as the inspiration for the hallucination-like effects described in his work. In addition, Carroll's narrative has been discussed as a description of a trip after using mind altering drugs. In one of the most famous sequences in the book, Alice changes her size by biting off pieces from different sides of a mushroom .
Symptoms and ailments
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome leads to changes in the perception of one's surroundings. These changes include both micropsia and macropsia (everything appears reduced or enlarged), as well as changed acoustic perception, changed tactile perceptions and changed perception of time .
The syndrome is particularly common in children . The attacks are often shorter and can also be completely painless, although the accompanying symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and noise are more pronounced. This can lead to neurological failures, so that the affected child begins to hallucinate . It perceives its body as larger or smaller and / or begins to see “ fantastic pictures”.
Consequences and complications
The changes in perception can severely affect those affected, so that they lose their orientation and “can no longer find their way around”. In extreme cases, falls and other accidents can occur. The perceptual disorders can lead to the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome being confused with other mental disorders or being misinterpreted as "madness".
treatment
The focus is on the treatment of the underlying disease, e.g. B. the symptomatic treatment of a migraine.
literature
- Klaus Podoll, Hermann Ebel, Derek Robinson, Ubaldo Nicola: Obligatory and facultative symptoms of the Alice in Wonderland syndrome . In: Minerva Medica , Vol. 93 (2002), Heft 4, pp. 287-293, ISSN 0026-4806 (article in Italian).
Individual evidence
- ↑ John Todd: The syndrome of Alice in Wonderland . In: Canadian Medical Association Journal . 73, No. 9, November 1955, pp. 701-704. PMID 13304769 . PMC 1826192 (free full text). ISSN 0008-4409 .
- ^ Caro W. Lippman: Certain hallucinations peculiar to migraine . In: Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease . 116, No. 4, October 1952, pp. 346-351. PMID 12991095 . , ISSN 0022-3018 .
