zoom vision

   A term used to denote a * visual illusion caused by a gradual change from regular visual perception to either macroptic or microptic vision. Macrop-tic vision, or * macropsia, is a visual illusion characterized by a * magnification of objects and stimuli present in the extracorporeal world. Likewise, microptic vision or * micropsia is a visual illusion characterized by a *minification of objects and stimuli present in the external world. Zoom vision is characterized by a gradual opening-out, or closing-down, in the perceived size of objects and stimuli, as if they were observed with the aid of a zoom lens. Etiologically, zoom vision is associated primarily with *aurae occurring in the context of paroxysmal neurological disorders such as migraine and epilepsy. It has also been described in the context of intoxication with * hallucinogens such as LSD and mescaline. Arguably the most famous descriptions of zoom vision stem from the children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898). Since Carroll probably suffered from migraine, it was suggested in 1952 by the American neurologist Caro W. Lippman (18861954) that the author may have experienced zoom vision himself. When zoom vision occurs in conjunction with other types of *sensory distortions and/or *sensory deceptions, it is sometimes referred to as an * Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

   References

   Carroll, L. (1865). Alice's adventures in Wonderland. New York, NY: Appleton.

   Lippman, C.W. (1952). Certain hallucinations peculiar to migraine. Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, 116, 346-351.

   Sacks, O. (1992). Migraine. Revised and expanded. New York, NY: Vintage Books.