Benign visual hallucinations in adventitiously blind and sight-impaired persons occur frequently and are a normal response to this type of sensory loss. They correspond to aspects of the phantom-limb experience of amputees and thus may be conceptualized as instances of “phantom vision.” Data from the authors’ research on the visual experiences of 443 blinded veterans illustrate their typical features as well as their diversity.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
AsaadG., and ShapiroB. (1986). Hallucinations: Theoretical and clinical overview.American Journal of Psychiatry, 143, 1088–1097.
3.
BentallR. (1990). The illusion of reality: A review and integration of psychological research on hallucinations.Psychological Bulletin, 107, 82–95.
4.
BonnetC. (1769). Essai analytique sur les facultés de l'âme (2nd ed.). Copenhagen: Cl. Philibert.
5.
CummingsJ.L., and MillerB.L. (1987). Visual hallucinations—Clinical occurrence and use in differential diagnosis.Western Journal of Medicine, 146, 46–51.
HecaenH., and AlbertM.L. (1978). Disorders of visual perception. In HecaenH., AlbertM.L. (Eds.), Human neuropsychology (pp. 144–167). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
8.
McNamaraM.E., HerosR.C., and BollerF. (1982). Visual hallucinations in blindness: The Charles Bonnet syndrome.International Journal of Neuroscience, 17, 13–15.
9.
MelzackR. (1989). Phantom limbs, the self and the brain (The D.O. Hebb Memorial Lecture).Canadian Psychology, 30, 1–16.
10.
MelzackR. (1990). Phantom limbs and the concept of neuromatrix.Trends in Neurosciences, 13, 88–92.
11.
NeedhamW.E., EhmerM.N., MarchesseaultL., & De l'AuneW.R. (1986). Effectiveness of the Mini-Mult in detecting MMPI pathology in the blind.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42, 887–890.
12.
NeedhamW.E., and TaylorR.E. (1990, July). Visual hallucinations of the blind: Commonplace or cause for concern? Paper presented at the international meeting of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Washington, DC.
13.
NeedhamW.E., and TaylorR.E. (1991). Distress associated with benign visual hallucinations.Clinical Neuropsychologist, 5, 266.
14.
NeedhamW.E., TaylorR.E., NeedhamM.L., and HoroshakJ.C. (1991, August). Distress associated with benign visual hallucinations. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.
15.
RaschkaL.B., and SchlagerF.M. (1982). On the diversity of visual hallucinations.Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 27, 48–51.
16.
ScheieH.G., and AlbertD.M. (1977). Textbook of ophthalmology (9th ed.). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders.
17.
SherwinI., and GeschwindN. (1978). Neural substrates of behavior. In NicholsA.M.Jr. (Ed.), The Harvard guide to modern psychiatry (pp. 59–80). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
18.
SimmelM. (1956). On phantom limbs.Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry, 75, 69–78.
19.
TaylorR.E., and NeedhamW.E. (1991, June). Sensory impairment with “hallucinatory” experience: Commonplace or cause for concern? Paper presented at the 1991 meeting of the Society for Disability Studies, Oakland, CA.
20.
TaylorR.E., and NeedhamW.E. (in press). Sensory impairment with “hallucinatory” experience: Commonplace or cause for concern?Proceeding of the Society for Disability Studies.Salem, OR: Willamette College.
21.
TaylorR.E., NeedhamW.E., ShindellS., KramerS.H., MancilG.L., and MehrE.B. (1988, August). The Charles Bonnet Phenomenon: Visual hallucinations in normal people. Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Psychological Association, Atlanta, Georgia.
22.
Wagner-LamplA., and OliverG.W. (1988). Bringing imagery into the world of visual impairment.Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 82, 373–377.
23.
WestL.J. (1975). A clinical and theoretical overview of hallucinatory phenomena. In SiegelR.K., WestL.J. (Eds.), Hallucinations: Behavior, experience and theory (pp. 287–311). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
