Skip to content

Phosphenes induced by sound

Simmons Lessell, Michael M. Cohen

Neurology November 1, 1979 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.29.11.1524 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Case study Case report Peer reviewed
Sample size 3
Population Adults with acquired unilateral visual impairment (postkeratoplasty, optic neuritis, optic nerve compression)
Duration Hallucinations persisted for days in the postkeratoplasty patient, weeks in the optic neuritis patient, and months in the patient with optic nerve compression
Citations 52
Key findings Three patients with acquired unilateral visual loss experienced sound-induced phosphenes, but only when resting in dark or dimly lit rooms; the phenomenon lasted days to months depending on the underlying condition. The authors propose these are a pathologic variety of hypnagogic hallucination and theorize that visual deafferentation and altered excitability make bimodal (visual-auditory) cells hyperresponsive to sound.

Abstract

Three adults with acquired unilateral visual impairment noticed phosphenes when they heard noises. They witnessed them only when resting in a dark or dimly illuminated room. The hallucinations persisted for days in a postkeratoplasty patient, for weeks in a patient with optic neuritis, and for months in a patient with compression of the optic nerve. The sound-induced phosphenes in these cases seemed to be a pathologic variety of hypnagogic hallucination. We theorize that under conditions of altered excitability and visual deafferentation of the brain, cells capable of responding to both visual and auditory stimuli become hyperresponsive to sounds.

Citations in the library

Cited by 4

Related reading