Hallucination News and Research

RSS

A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space.

The ultimate get out for men, can't hear you - and my brain is to blame!

Oh come on - it's the ultimate get out for men!...scientists say they have now discovered that women's voices are more difficult for men to listen to, and process information from, than the voices of other men.

9 Aug 2005

New hope for schizophrenia sufferers

Key research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) could lead to the first early diagnostic tool for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

2 Aug 2005

People born during a famine in China have an increased risk of schizophrenia

...consistent with previous research suggesting a link between fetal nutritional deficiency and schizophrenia, according to a study in the August 3 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

2 Aug 2005

First trial of pramipexole for the treatment of fibromyalgia

The mechanism of fibromyalgia, a chronic illness characterized by muscle pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances, is unknown and medications used to treat it (such as antidepressants, antiepileptics, muscle relaxants, antiinflammatories, sedative hypnotics, pain relievers and nutriceuticals) have had limited success.

28 Jul 2005

Video games can be useful in health care and research

One innovative application of video games in health care is their use in pain management as the degree of attention needed to play such a game can distract the player from the sensation of pain, writes Mark Griffiths, Professor of gambling studies at Nottingham Trent University.

14 Jul 2005

Neurological complication may result from rapid withdrawal from pregabalin

A report in the July Annals of Neurology describes a serious adverse event experienced by a participant in a clinical trial that may raise a new caution about the use of antiepileptic drugs for conditions other than epilepsy.

6 Jul 2005

Memory aids help people with schizophrenia remember things just as well as healthy people

When encouraged to use memorization strategies commonly employed by healthy individuals, people with schizophrenia can be helped to remember information just as well as their healthy counterparts, a process that in itself seems to spur a normalization of memory-related activities in the brains of people with schizophrenia, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

6 Jul 2005

New study investigates how healthy individuals and schizophrenia patients interpret their visual worlds

Healthy individuals possess an intact ability to distinguish between events that occur as a result of their own actions and events that occur as the result of someone else's.

20 Jun 2005

Seroquel (quetiapine), may be an effective treatment option for patients with schizophrenia

A new study, published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental, shows that the atypical antipsychotic Seroquel (quetiapine), may be an effective treatment option for patients with schizophrenia who exhibit aggressive behaviour during psychotic episodes.

19 Jun 2005

Schizophrenia is more common in developed countries than poorer nations

The report debunks a popular textbook definition that schizophrenia will affect 10 in every 1000 people no matter where patients live. It says this rate is too high and more likely, between seven and eight in 1000 people, although this varied between sites.

31 May 2005

Gene may boost schizophrenia risk

Clues about how a suspect version of a gene may slightly increase risk for schizophrenia are emerging from a brain imaging study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The gene variant produced a telltale pattern of activity linked to production of a key brain messenger chemical.

21 Apr 2005

Commons committee blasts dementia discrimination

On 10 April 2005 the House of Commons Health Select Committee published a damning report about the government’s policy on fully funded NHS continuing care.

12 Apr 2005

Metabolic side effects of antipsychotics are known, but rarely monitored

Psychiatrists are doing a “modest” job of monitoring for weight gain, diabetes and other metabolic problems that may result from use of the newer antipsychotics for schizophrenia, researchers say.

5 Apr 2005

People who live with migraine headaches show a riskier profile for cardiovascular disease

People who live with migraine headaches show a "riskier" profile for cardiovascular disease than those without migraines, according to a new study published in the February 22 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

22 Feb 2005

Schizophrenia may arise from a single genetic defect

Researchers have long puzzled over the apparently multiple causes of complex developmental disorders such as schizophrenia. Individuals seem to be predisposed to the disease by a tragic, mysterious combination of genetics, prenatal trauma, viral infection, and early experience.

16 Feb 2005

Organon’s compound, Org 24448, selected to test efficacy of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) sponsored network called Treatment Units for Research on Neurocognition in Schizophrenia (TURNS) has selected Organon’s compound, Org 24448, to undergo testing as part of its effort to facilitate the development of medications to enhance cognition in patients with schizophrenia.

24 Jan 2005

African drug Ibogaine blocks alcohol cravings

A naturally occurring hallucinogen advocated by some clinicians as a potent anti-addiction drug has been rigorously studied for the first time, confirming its ability to block alcohol craving in rodents, and clarifying how it works in the brain.

20 Jan 2005

Scientists identify a protein that regulates alcohol-withdrawal seizures

Seizures are the most life-threatening, as well as disconcerting, symptoms of withdrawal in people who are alcoholics and who abruptly stop drinking. Heavy consumption of alcohol, or ethanol, the substance in beer, wine and liquor that is addictive, leads to changes in the brain.

10 Jan 2005

Annual decline in cognitive functioning is similar in patients with Parkinson disease and dementia and patients with Alzheimer disease

The average annual decline in cognitive functioning is similar in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and dementia and patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), according to an article in the December issue of The Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

13 Dec 2004

Postpartum depression: Beyond the 'Baby Blues'

In a culture where giving birth is often believed to be the most joyful moment in life, many women instead feel tired, sad, anxious, distracted and depressed after the baby is born.

18 Nov 2004