slide show format of visual hallucinations

   Also referred to as movie format of visual hallucinations. Both terms are used to convey the speed and recurrent discontinuities which characterize * visual hallucinations in some individuals. A rapid flow of images, as well as 'jumps' from one scene to the next lend these hallucinations the phenomenological quality of a slide show, a kaleidoscope, or a DVD in fast-forward mode. Sometimes the scenes appear as if projected upon a screen or window pane in front of the individual's eyes, often with a bright light at the centre of the image. The slide show format of visual hallucinations has been described chiefly during * hypnagogic and * hypnopompic states, but it has also been described as a typical characteristic of * cannabis- and * hallucinogen-induced visual hallucinations. Although its pathophysiological basis is unknown, it is not unthinkable that there is a parallel with the pathophysiological substrates of *akinetopsia (i.e. a selective deficit in the ability to perceive motion) and * cinematographic vision (i.e. a transient form of akinetopsia occurring in the context of an * aura).

   References

   Siegel, R.K., Jarvik, M.E. (1975). Drug-induced hallucinations in animals and man.In: Hallucinations. Behavior, experience, and theory. Edited by Siegel, R.K., West, L.J. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.