Migraine Hallucinations Said May Have Inspired 'Alice' Tales
www.foxnews.com - 4-24-99
EW YORK (Reuters Health) - Migraine-related hallucinations may have inspired the surreal,
imaginary world of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,'' according to
researchers.
New evidence supports "the thesis that at least some of Alice's adventures were based
on Carroll's personal migraine aura perceptions,'' according to Dr. Klaus Podoll of the
University of Technology in Aschen and co-author Derek Robinson of Cox Green, in England.
Their findings were published last Saturday in
The Lancet.
Carroll first noted the appearance of migraine hallucinations in an 1885 diary entry,
where he wrote that he had "experienced, for the second time, that odd optical
affection of seeing moving fortifications, followed by a headache.'' Because this
phenomenon appears to have only happened once before, and because the 'Alice'
books were published in 1864-1865, most experts had discounted the theory that the works
were based on the often bizarre 'dreamscapes' of migraine hallucinations.
However, Podoll and Robinson believe they have found "two pieces of evidence'' that
might change experts' views.
They first cite a sketch produced by Carroll sometime between 1855-1862. The sketch is
dominated by an elf-like figure "meticulously drawn except for the fact that that he
is missing the right side of his face, as well as portions of his right shoulder, wrist
and hand.
This odd omission appears to suggest a "rounded border defect... similar to that seen
in a negative scotoma,'' according to the researchers. Negative scotomas, where patients
cannot see objects that fall on certain parts of the retina, can occur in migraine auras.
The second piece of evidence involves a diary entry from January 1856, when Carroll wrote,
"Consulted Mr. Bowman, the oculist, about my right eye: he does not seem to think
anything can be done to remedy it, but recommends me not to read long at a time....''
Podoll and Robinson speculate that the author consulted Bowman to find a cause and
treatment for the negative scotoma that produced the defective drawing.
Both the drawing and the diary entry suggest that Carroll experienced migraine
hallucinations (probably without accompanying headache) in the years leading up to his
creation of "Alice's Adventures Underground'' and "Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland.'' The recurrence of increasingly familiar hallucinations over time
might "explain the otherwise inexplicable similarities between the experiences
described in the two Alice books,'' the researchers conclude.
SOURCE: The Lancet 1999;353:1366.
COMMENT
From Frances Fontaine 4-24-99
As far as I know this "migraine hallucination" "theory" is pure 100%
BS or a myth. I've had migraines all of my life and know several other migraine sufferers
and never once have I had an hallucination associated with a migraine, nor has anyone else
amongst my family and friends who suffer migraines, so far as I know.
From Kim Green
4-24-99
You can add my comment in support of the article regarding migraine hallucinations being
the possible source of Lewis Carroll's surreal works. I have personally experienced
similar symptoms, including the scotomas, and also geometric patterns floating in front of
my eyes, as well as seeing distorted figures during an aura. Like
Lewis Carroll's admittedly posthumously diagnosed condition, I usually (but not always)
have the aura of a migraine, without pain, therefore, I have been diagnosed with the
"acephalgic" type. Sometimes, though, there is a crawing sensation, or
neurological symptoms such as speech or fine motor coordination problems. Less
often, I have a disabling, painful migraine, complete with sensitivity to light and sound,
and nausea and vomiting.
When I first experienced these symptoms, they were extremely frightening. This condition
may be rare, but it is very real, and responds to traditional migraine treatment.
Sincerely,
Kim Green
