Open AccessHallucinations: Etiology and clinical implications
Author(s) -
Santosh Kumar,
Subhash Soren,
Suprakash Chaudhury
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
industrial psychiatry journal/industrial psychiatry journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 0976-2795
pISSN - 0972-6748
DOI - 10.4103/0972-6748.62273
Subject(s) - etiology , causation , psychology , presentation (obstetrics) , psychiatry , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , medicine , radiology , political science , law
The literature on hallucinations is reviewed, including history; theoretical background from physiological, biochemical and psychological points of view; classification; causation; presentation in different psychiatric and neurological disorders and in normal persons. The available evidence suggests that hallucinations result from a failure of the metacognitive skills involved in discriminating between self-generated and external sources of information. Management of hallucinations is briefly discussed.