Oliver Sacks you may recall was the Dr featured in the film “Awakenings” anyway this is a video about hallucinations in patients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgOTaXhbqPQ

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnett syndrome — when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

monkey skipper said:

Oliver Sacks you may recall was the Dr featured in the film “Awakenings” anyway this is a video about hallucinations in patients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgOTaXhbqPQ

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnett syndrome — when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

I’ve had a couple of patients with this, the first I’m aware of was probably 25 years ago at least. At the time I had not heard of CB syndrome. But the fellow was a retired school teacher and he told me that he could sit in his kitchen and children would come in to see him. He was totally aware that they were not there, but he could quite definitely see them. He was not overly concerned about them. My more recent lady has died in the last couple of years. She had visitors at night who came and sat on her bed. She told me she sometimes tried to push them away. I saw her often and we always discussed if her visitors were visiting or not. It did not happen all the time.

This condition is under reported because people fear they will be labelled mad. I have brought it to the attention of some of the people working in aged care here. It is very important to assure the patient that they are not mad and that what they see is a recognized phenomenon. I usually explain it in terms of the brain filling in the gaps/making things up because it is no longer getting good visual input.

buffy said:

monkey skipper said:

Oliver Sacks you may recall was the Dr featured in the film “Awakenings” anyway this is a video about hallucinations in patients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgOTaXhbqPQ

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnett syndrome — when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

I’ve had a couple of patients with this, the first I’m aware of was probably 25 years ago at least. At the time I had not heard of CB syndrome. But the fellow was a retired school teacher and he told me that he could sit in his kitchen and children would come in to see him. He was totally aware that they were not there, but he could quite definitely see them. He was not overly concerned about them. My more recent lady has died in the last couple of years. She had visitors at night who came and sat on her bed. She told me she sometimes tried to push them away. I saw her often and we always discussed if her visitors were visiting or not. It did not happen all the time.

This condition is under reported because people fear they will be labelled mad. I have brought it to the attention of some of the people working in aged care here. It is very important to assure the patient that they are not mad and that what they see is a recognized phenomenon. I usually explain it in terms of the brain filling in the gaps/making things up because it is no longer getting good visual input.

The distress caused though may affect the person’s emotional wellbeing without that extra bit of knowing.

“The distress caused though may affect the person’s emotional wellbeing without that extra bit of knowing.”

I don’t think I understand you. The advice to carers is to acknowledge the condition because people need to know that it is a recognized thing. These people have normal understanding, they do not have dementia. They usually prefer an explanation. But most of the time no-one will know they are having the formed hallucinations because they won’t tell.

buffy said:

“The distress caused though may affect the person’s emotional wellbeing without that extra bit of knowing.”

I don’t think I understand you. The advice to carers is to acknowledge the condition because people need to know that it is a recognized thing. These people have normal understanding, they do not have dementia. They usually prefer an explanation. But most of the time no-one will know they are having the formed hallucinations because they won’t tell.

Sure.

I simply meant raising awareness will be very helpful for those carers and importantly the individual.

Interesting case:

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2010/193/3/frightening-visual-hallucinations-atypical-presentation-charles-bonnet-syndrome

monkey skipper said:

buffy said:

“The distress caused though may affect the person’s emotional wellbeing without that extra bit of knowing.”

I don’t think I understand you. The advice to carers is to acknowledge the condition because people need to know that it is a recognized thing. These people have normal understanding, they do not have dementia. They usually prefer an explanation. But most of the time no-one will know they are having the formed hallucinations because they won’t tell.

Sure.

I simply meant raising awareness will be very helpful for those carers and importantly the individual.

Ah, it read as if you were saying not to tell them because it’s extra distress.

buffy said:

monkey skipper said:

buffy said:

“The distress caused though may affect the person’s emotional wellbeing without that extra bit of knowing.”

I don’t think I understand you. The advice to carers is to acknowledge the condition because people need to know that it is a recognized thing. These people have normal understanding, they do not have dementia. They usually prefer an explanation. But most of the time no-one will know they are having the formed hallucinations because they won’t tell.

Sure.

I simply meant raising awareness will be very helpful for those carers and importantly the individual.

Ah, it read as if you were saying not to tell them because it’s extra distress.

He mentioned that people with a hearing impairment can have these experiences as well.

I see auras as a pre-migraine experiences , which from what he said is because the visual cortex is affected.

buffy said:

Interesting case:

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2010/193/3/frightening-visual-hallucinations-atypical-presentation-charles-bonnet-syndrome

Quite interesting the stress link. I have had the suspicion for a while that stress could be the trigger for images in the brain for other conditions as well.

Migraine pro-dromal is quite different in form. Usually that is like a circle/part circle of flashy light effects. Gradually expanding. What people see in CB syndrome is actual formed hallucinations. People. Animals. The migraine thing is likely weird blood flow effects to the brain. But as far as I know no-one really knows how migraine works, even now.

I had one patient who was extensively tested to sort out tingling down an arm. In the end they decided it was his form of migraine pro-dromal.

The human body is weird.

An interesting talk from Mr Sacks.

The only hallucinations I have are the ones where I deliberately try to see a large spider on the ceiling that isn’t there.

Haven’t done it for a long time but they were very convincing, but hard to maintain for more than a few seconds.

I’d lie in bed in a dimly lit room with my eyes closed for a while, then open them and look up at the ceiling. There’s a dark patch near the centre of vision when you do this, and I’d somehow “will” it to look exactly like a large huntsman spider. Sometimes they were enormous (much larger than any real spider) and would crawl across the ceiling before dissolving.

Very convincing hallucinations.

Bubblecar said:

An interesting talk from Mr Sacks.

The only hallucinations I have are the ones where I deliberately try to see a large spider on the ceiling that isn’t there.

Haven’t done it for a long time but they were very convincing, but hard to maintain for more than a few seconds.

I’d lie in bed in a dimly lit room with my eyes closed for a while, then open them and look up at the ceiling. There’s a dark patch near the centre of vision when you do this, and I’d somehow “will” it to look exactly like a large huntsman spider. Sometimes they were enormous (much larger than any real spider) and would crawl across the ceiling before dissolving.

Very convincing hallucinations.

Do you like spiders?

monkey skipper said:

Bubblecar said:

An interesting talk from Mr Sacks.

The only hallucinations I have are the ones where I deliberately try to see a large spider on the ceiling that isn’t there.

Haven’t done it for a long time but they were very convincing, but hard to maintain for more than a few seconds.

I’d lie in bed in a dimly lit room with my eyes closed for a while, then open them and look up at the ceiling. There’s a dark patch near the centre of vision when you do this, and I’d somehow “will” it to look exactly like a large huntsman spider. Sometimes they were enormous (much larger than any real spider) and would crawl across the ceiling before dissolving.

Very convincing hallucinations.

Do you like spiders?

I don’t particularly like them in the house, and especially not on the ceiling above my bed :)

But I noticed this hallucination occurring by itself now and then, and decided to see if I could train myself to see it at will.

Bubblecar said:

An interesting talk from Mr Sacks.

The only hallucinations I have are the ones where I deliberately try to see a large spider on the ceiling that isn’t there.

Haven’t done it for a long time but they were very convincing, but hard to maintain for more than a few seconds.

I’d lie in bed in a dimly lit room with my eyes closed for a while, then open them and look up at the ceiling. There’s a dark patch near the centre of vision when you do this, and I’d somehow “will” it to look exactly like a large huntsman spider. Sometimes they were enormous (much larger than any real spider) and would crawl across the ceiling before dissolving.

Very convincing hallucinations.

Is the landlord going to fix the ceiling that isn’t there?

The Rev Dodgson said:

Bubblecar said:

An interesting talk from Mr Sacks.

The only hallucinations I have are the ones where I deliberately try to see a large spider on the ceiling that isn’t there.

Haven’t done it for a long time but they were very convincing, but hard to maintain for more than a few seconds.

I’d lie in bed in a dimly lit room with my eyes closed for a while, then open them and look up at the ceiling. There’s a dark patch near the centre of vision when you do this, and I’d somehow “will” it to look exactly like a large huntsman spider. Sometimes they were enormous (much larger than any real spider) and would crawl across the ceiling before dissolving.

Very convincing hallucinations.

Is the landlord going to fix the ceiling that isn’t there?

There is actually a part of the brain dedicated to cartoons , viewing them , creating or thinking about them. Watching tv has done something to us all is my guess.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Bubblecar said:

An interesting talk from Mr Sacks.

The only hallucinations I have are the ones where I deliberately try to see a large spider on the ceiling that isn’t there.

Haven’t done it for a long time but they were very convincing, but hard to maintain for more than a few seconds.

I’d lie in bed in a dimly lit room with my eyes closed for a while, then open them and look up at the ceiling. There’s a dark patch near the centre of vision when you do this, and I’d somehow “will” it to look exactly like a large huntsman spider. Sometimes they were enormous (much larger than any real spider) and would crawl across the ceiling before dissolving.

Very convincing hallucinations.

Is the landlord going to fix the ceiling that isn’t there?

:)

monkey skipper said:

Bubblecar said:

Do you like spiders?

I don’t particularly like them in the house, and especially not on the ceiling above my bed :)

But I noticed this hallucination occurring by itself now and then, and decided to see if I could train myself to see it at will.

Can I take a moment to tell you about the time a huntsman dropped off the bbedroom ceiling onto my face?

Yes. she did. Spanned all of the non-bearded part of my fac. Yes, the eyes nose mouth.

She woke me up she did. I deliberaley didn’t open my eyes and waited to see what she did.

She danced around for a bit then jumped off. No idea wher she went, I went back to sleep. The next day I found that she had landed between mrs rb’s breasts and she rolled over. Flattened between her breasts the spider bit her before she died.

buffy said:

monkey skipper said:

Oliver Sacks you may recall was the Dr featured in the film “Awakenings” anyway this is a video about hallucinations in patients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgOTaXhbqPQ

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnett syndrome — when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

I’ve had a couple of patients with this, the first I’m aware of was probably 25 years ago at least. At the time I had not heard of CB syndrome. But the fellow was a retired school teacher and he told me that he could sit in his kitchen and children would come in to see him. He was totally aware that they were not there, but he could quite definitely see them. He was not overly concerned about them. My more recent lady has died in the last couple of years. She had visitors at night who came and sat on her bed. She told me she sometimes tried to push them away. I saw her often and we always discussed if her visitors were visiting or not. It did not happen all the time.

This condition is under reported because people fear they will be labelled mad. I have brought it to the attention of some of the people working in aged care here. It is very important to assure the patient that they are not mad and that what they see is a recognized phenomenon. I usually explain it in terms of the brain filling in the gaps/making things up because it is no longer getting good visual input.

I hadn’t heard of that, and can think of only one instance that I’ve seen on TV.

In an experiment on sensory deprivation, people were put in a room without light or sound for days. After 2 or 3 days, one of the participants, jumped back glaring at the bed whispering “snakes”. Then, knowing that researchers would be listening in, she said through clenched teeth “Note to researchers, I am definitely seeing hallucinations”.

mollwollfumble said:

buffy said:

monkey skipper said:

Oliver Sacks you may recall was the Dr featured in the film “Awakenings” anyway this is a video about hallucinations in patients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgOTaXhbqPQ

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnett syndrome — when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

I’ve had a couple of patients with this, the first I’m aware of was probably 25 years ago at least. At the time I had not heard of CB syndrome. But the fellow was a retired school teacher and he told me that he could sit in his kitchen and children would come in to see him. He was totally aware that they were not there, but he could quite definitely see them. He was not overly concerned about them. My more recent lady has died in the last couple of years. She had visitors at night who came and sat on her bed. She told me she sometimes tried to push them away. I saw her often and we always discussed if her visitors were visiting or not. It did not happen all the time.

This condition is under reported because people fear they will be labelled mad. I have brought it to the attention of some of the people working in aged care here. It is very important to assure the patient that they are not mad and that what they see is a recognized phenomenon. I usually explain it in terms of the brain filling in the gaps/making things up because it is no longer getting good visual input.

I hadn’t heard of that, and can think of only one instance that I’ve seen on TV.

In an experiment on sensory deprivation, people were put in a room without light or sound for days. After 2 or 3 days, one of the participants, jumped back glaring at the bed whispering “snakes”. Then, knowing that researchers would be listening in, she said through clenched teeth “Note to researchers, I am definitely seeing hallucinations”.

get me OUT OF HERE!

Oliver Sacks writes fascinating books. I highly recommend them. I have them all (a matching set, apart from On the Move). Not all are aimed at lay people, eg Migraine, but the rest are.

*wrote

:-(

They are indeed an interesting and readable read, but you do have to pardon his occasional penchant for exaggeration.

OCDC said:

*wrote

:-(

Yes, he’s no longer with us.

Apparently Sacks himself had difficulty recognising faces.

Was Oliver Sacks the dude who wrote about the guy who mistook his wife for a hat rack (or something along those lines)?

Divine Angel said:

Was Oliver Sacks the dude who wrote about the guy who mistook his wife for a hat rack (or something along those lines)?

That was Mr Magoo I think

Divine Angel said:

Was Oliver Sacks the dude who wrote about the guy who mistook his wife for a hat rack (or something along those lines)?

That was Mr Magoo I think

Divine Angel said:

Was Oliver Sacks the dude who wrote about the guy who mistook his wife for a hat rack (or something along those lines)?

Yes. The book was called The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.

Sorry, I meant to add that it was adapted into an opera by Michael Nyman.