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What is Micropsia?

One minute everything in the world seems normal and then the next minute everything changes.  You look around and everything is abnormally small.  Even when you close your eyes you can’t shake the abnormal images.  Suddenly you feel like the girl in Alice in Wonderland.  The reason this is happening is because of condition called Micropsia.

Micropsia is characterized by a change in visual perception and causes a person to see objects much smaller than what they really are.   The syndrome continues even when the eyes are closed and the sufferer knows that the way they perceive the objects isn’t how they really look. Micropsia is usually a temporary condition, but it can be chronic.

The symptoms of Micropsia are an altered body image (especially the head and hands), distortion of visual perception, distorted time perception, distorted touch perception and distorted sound perception.  Peripheral Symptoms are anxiety, apraxia and agnosia.  Micropsia has been linked to Epilepsy, Migraine headaches, the Epstein-Barr Virus, Mononucleosis and the use of recreational drugs.  Micropsia has also been associated with hallucinations. 

Micropsia was first described in 1952 by Dr. C.W. Lippmann and again in 1955 by Dr. J. Todd.  This disorder is probably better known as the “Alice in Wonderland” Syndrome.  If you watch Alice in Wonderland you can catch a glimpse inside the world of a person with Micropsia.  Many have often wondered if the author of Alice in Wonderland had this disorder because the visions in the story closely match the symptoms. 

Micropsia can be caused by swelling in the corneal areas of the eyes, a neurological disorder or by various psychoactive drugs.  There is no evidence to support it, but some feel that it can also be caused by certain ingredients in cough medicine.  In rare cases Micropsia can also be caused by psychological disorders.  Micropsia is more common in children, but it can also occur in adults.  Children between the ages of five and ten are a large proportion of those diagnosed with the disorder.

 

By: C.Olvera
Published: 09/22/08


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1 Posted Comments:

@ 10:48 pm 10/11/08 by yourstrulyisabel
I have never heard of that. I guess not all plain hallucinations and headaches are less serious. It can be a symptom of some other disease. Just hope you also included in your article how to cure it. Good article though!
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