PERCEPTION DISORDERS

 Perception:
The process of transferring physical stimulation into psychological information; mental process
by which sensory stimuli are brought to awareness.

 Perceptual Disorders:
Perceptual Disorders Cognitive disorders characterized by an impaired ability to perceive the
nature of objects or concepts through use of the sense organs. These include spatial neglect
syndromes, where an individual does not attend to visual, auditory, or sensory stimuli presented
from one side of the body.

 Types:

 Sensory Distortion

Constant real perceptual object which is perceived in a distorted way.

 Sensory Deception

New perception that may occur that may or may not be in response to
external stimuli.

 Disorders in the experience of time

Sensory Distortion:
Changes in Intensity: Increased intensity of sensation- hyperesthesia seen in increasing
sensations or lowering of physiological threshold. Seen in

 Anxiety
 Depressive disorder
 Hangover from alcohol
 Migraine
 Hypochondria cal personalities
 Increased sensitivity to noise – Hyperacusis
 Decreased sensitivity to noise – Hypoacusis
 Delirious
  Depression
 Attention deficit disorder
 Change in Quality:
 Visual perception – affected by this are brought about by toxic drugs
 Xanthopsia- Coloring of Yellow
 Chloropsia - Coloring of green
 Erythropsia- Coloring of red
 Derealization- Everything looks unreal and strange
 Mania- looks perfect and beautiful

Changes in Spatial Form

 Change in perceived shape of an object
 Retinal disease
 Disorders of accommodation
 Temporal and Parietal Lobe Lesions
 Poisoning with Atropine and Hyoscine
 SCHIZOPHRENIA

Distortions In The Experience Of Time

 Psychopathological point of view
 Physical- Determined by physical events
 Personal- Personal judgment of passage of time
i. Mania- Time passes quickly
ii. Depression- Time passes slowly
iii. Acute Schizophrenia- personal time goes in fits and starts
iv. Acute organic states (temporal disorientation) disorders of time is seen in milder form
there may be over estimation of time.
 Sensory Deception:
Illusions- Misinterpretation of a single stimuli arising from a single stimuli.

 Stimuli from a perceived object are combined with a mental image to produce a false
perception.
 Derived from set and lack of perceptual clarity
 Delirium
 Severe depression with delusions of guilt
 Types of Illusion:
1. Complete Illusion-These depends on misreading words in newspapers or missing
misprints because we read the word as if it were capable
2. Affect Illusion- These arise in the context of particular mood state
3. Paradolia- vivid illusions occur without the patient making any effort; are the result
of excessive fantasy thinking and a vivid visual imagery.

HALLUCINATIONS:

 False perception which is not a sensory distortion or misinterpretation but which occurs
at the same time as real perception.
 Essential criteria for an operational definitions:
a) Percept like experience in the absence of external stimuli
b) Percept like stimuli which has full force and impact of real perception
c) Percept like experience which is unwilled
d) occurs spontaneously and cannot be readily controlled by percipient.

Causes:

1. Intense emotions
2. Suggestion
3. Disorders of sense Organs
4. Sensory deprivation
5. Disorders of CNS

1. Emotions:
 Depressed patients with delusions of guilt; hallucination tends to be disjointed or short
phases.
 Occurrence of continuous persistent hallucinatory voices in severe depression should
arouse the suspicion of schizophrenia or some indercurrents physical disease.
2. Suggestion:
 Normal subjects can be made to hallucinate.
 Hypnotic hallucinations do not produce objective effects similar to those produced by
ordinary perceptions such as complimentary after images and so on

3. Disorders of sense Organs:
 Hallucinatory voices may be heard in ear disease.
 Visual hallucination is seen in eye diseases but usually there is disorder of
the CNS as well.
 Peripheral lesions of sense organs may play a part in hallucinations in
organic states.
4. Sensory deprivation:
 If all incoming stimuli are related to minimum in a normal subject they will begin to
hallucinate after few hours.
 Usually these are changing visual hallucinations and repetitive phrases.
 BLACK PATCH DISEASE delirium following cataract extraction in the aged result of
sensory deprivation and mild senile brain changes.

5. Disorders of CNS:
 Lesions of diencephalons and cortex can produce hallucination that are not only visual
but can be auditory.