tactile hallucination

tactile hallucination
   Also known as tactile phantasma, haptic hallucination, touch hallucination, and hallucination of touch. The term tactile hallucination is indebted to the Latin verb tangere, which means to touch. It refers to a bodily sensation seemingly evoked by a stimulus from outside the body (such as a pat on the shoulder, a blow to the head, or a stab in the back) which occurs in the absence of an appropriate source in the extracorporeal environment. The above terms are used in opposition to the term * somatic hallucination, which is reserved for a hallucination of bodily sensations that would seem to come from inside the body. Together, tactile and somatic hallucinations are referred to as * bodily hallucinations. Historically, tactile hallucinations have been divided mainly in accordance with the type of sensation evoked. Thus the term * stereognosic hallucination is used to denote a type of tactile hallucination in which one or more solid objects are perceived, and the term * spontaneous stereognosic sensation to denote a tactile hallucination mimicking the feeling of an object held in the palm of one's hand, while the hand is actually empty. The term * hygric hallucination is used to denote the hallucinated sensation of water, experienced in the tactile modality. When tactile hallucinations mimic the feeling of bugs crawling upon or beneath the skin, they are designated as *formicative hallucinations. Drug-induced variants of formication are known under the names *cocaine bugs, *Magnan's sign, Magnan-Saury's sign, and * crank bugs. Tactile hallucinations experienced in erogenic zones are referred to as *genital or *sexual hallucinations. The complete inability to feel one's body is designated as * acenesthesia, whereas painful sensations attributed to hallucinatory activity are referred to as * hallucinated pain. Some of the sensory deceptions experienced in the tactile modality should perhaps be classified as tactile illusions rather than hallucinations. Some examples are *tactile polyaesthesia (in which a single tactile stimulus is at first perceived and localized properly, and then perceived again in one or more improperly localized places), *allachaesthesia (i.e. a mislocation of tactile sensations), *phantom alloaesthesia (i.e. a tactile sensation perceived below the stump ofan amputated limb, following stimulation of the remaining - contralateral -limb), and * allochiria (i.e. a mislocation of sensory stimuli to the corresponding opposite half of the body). Pathophysiologically, tactile hallucinations are associated primarily with aberrant neurophysiological activity in sensory cortical areas representing the skin and subcutaneous tissues. In clinical practice, it is not always easy to distinguish them from other somatosensory phenomena. The differential diagnosis of tactile hallucinations includes such diverse phenomena as somatic hallucinations, hallucinated pain, *sensed presence, * distortions of vital sensation, *coenesthetic hallucinations, *body schema illusions, *paraesthesiae, *alloesthaesia, *allodynia, *hyperaesthesia, * hyperalgesia, * hyperpathia, referred pain, and actual parasitosis.
   References
   Berrios, G.E. (1985). Hallucinosis.In:Neu-robehavioural disorders. Edited by Frederiks, J.A.M. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publications.
   Critchley, M. (1953). The parietal lobes. London: Edward Arnold & Co. Guy, W., Ban, T.A., eds. (1982). The AMDP- system: Manual for the assessment and documentation of psychopathology. Berlin: Springer.
   Jaspers, K. (1997). Generalpsychopathology. Volume 1. Translated by Hoenig, J., Hamilton, M.W. Baltimore, MA: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Dictionary of Hallucinations. . 2010.

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  • tactile hallucination — a hallucination involving the sense of touch …   Medical dictionary

  • Hallucination — For other uses, see Hallucination (disambiguation). Hallucination Classification and external resources My eyes at the moment of the apparitions by August Natterer …   Wikipedia

  • hallucination of touch —    see tactile hallucination …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • tactile phantasma —    A term used in the older (i.e. pre esquirolian) literature to denote what is now commonly called a * tactile hallucination.    References    Müller, J. (1826). Ueber die phantastischen Gesichtserscheinungen. Koblenz: Hölscher …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • hallucination — [ a(l)lysinasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1660; lat. hallucinatio 1 ♦ Méd. Perception pathologique de faits, d objets qui n existent pas, de sensations en l absence de tout stimulus extérieur. ⇒ illusion, onirisme, rêve. Hallucinations visuelles (⇒ mirage,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • hallucination — The apparent, often strong subjective perception of an object or event when no such stimulus or situation is present; may be visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, or …   Medical dictionary

  • hallucination — n. a false perception of something that is not really there. Hallucinations may be visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory (of taste), or olfactory (of smell). They may be provoked by mental illness (such as schizophrenia or severe anxiety… …   The new mediacal dictionary

  • genital hallucination —    The term genital hallucination comes from the Latin adjective genitalis, which means fertile, intended for procreation. It is used to denote a hallucination affecting the reproductive organs of the male or female, i.e. the penis, testes,… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • somatic hallucination —    Also known as somatosensory hallucination. Both terms are indebted to the Greek noun soma, which means body. They are used to denote a hallucination that mimics feelings from inside the body, such as sensations in the belly or the limbs.… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • bodily hallucination —    Also known as body sensation hallucination. Both terms are used interchangeably as umbrella terms for the notions of * tactile hallucination and * somatic hallucination. In other words, both terms refer to a hallucination experienced in the… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

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