Blindfolding may induce Hallucinations

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Caterpillar
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Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 4:11 am

Blindfolding may induce Hallucinations

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Studies have shown that visual deprivation, either through blindfolding or visual impairment may cause hallucinations.

RSE?s disciplines promote visual deprivation through the use of blindfolds. In my opinion, some students may have ?hallucinations?, but are influenced by JZ/Ramtha to think that these visions are ?real? and indicative of other dimensions as claimed by JZ/R. JZ/R may also influence students to have certain hallucinations through the power of suggestion.

Furthermore, the trance state induced by JZ/Ramtha?s disciplines may be harmful in some people as per previous post.

http://www.enlightenmefree.com/phpbb3/p ... .php?t=918

This may explain some Ramsters that seem wacky as they are led to believe by JZ/R that these hallucinations are ?real?.

The following articles and videos describe the incidence of hallucinations when visually deprived, either by being blindfolded or visually impaired. It is interesting that these hallucinations can occur and are NOT dependent on JZ/Ramtha?s teachings or disciplines.



(1) Visual Hallucinations During Prolonged Blindfolding in Sighted Subjects, Harvard Medical School, Boston

Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology:
June 2004 - Volume 24 - Issue 2 - pp 109-113

Merabet, Lotfi B. OD, PhD; Maguire, Denise BSc; Warde, Aisling BSc; Alterescu, Karin PhD; Stickgold, Robert PhD; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro MD, PhD

http://journals.lww.com/jneuro-ophthalm ... ged.3.aspx

Abstract

The authors report the occurrence of visual hallucinations of varying complexity in 13 normal subjects after sudden, complete, and prolonged visual deprivation. The subjects were all healthy individuals with no history of cognitive dysfunction, psychosis, or ocular pathology. They wore a specially designed blindfold for a period of five consecutive days (96 hours) and were asked to record their daily experiences using a hand-held microcassette recorder. Ten (77%) of the subjects reported visual hallucinations, which were both simple (bright spots of light) and complex (faces, landscapes, ornate objects). The onset of hallucinations was generally after the first day of blindfolding. Subjects were insightful as to their unreal nature. These results indicate that rapid and complete visual deprivation is sufficient to induce visual hallucinations in normal subjects.


(2) Stressed out? Put on a blindfold for 72 hours and bang into chairs

Participants in this English retreat were blindfolded (using Mindfolds) for a weekend in order to experience hallucinations. They were informed of the ?hallucinations? rather than ?actual reality?, unlike RSE.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/ ... knewspages (June 5, 2005)


(3) Graphical illustration and functional neuroimaging of visual hallucinations during prolonged blindfolding: A comparison to visual imagery

Journal of Vision, Volume 8, Number 6, Abstract 68, Page 68a, May 10, 2008

Sireteanu, R., Oertel, V., Mohr, H., Haenschel, C., Linden, D., Maurer, K., Singer, W., & Schwarz, M.

http://www.journalofvision.org/8/6/68/

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the subjective experience and the brain activity associated with visual hallucinations produced by prolonged blindfolding with the activity associated with mental imagery of the same patterns. Methods: The subject was a 37-year-old healthy female who developed visual hallucinations during three weeks of complete visual deprivation. We acquired fMRI data with a Siemens 3T Magnetom Allegra towards the end of the deprivation period, to assess hallucination-related activity, and again after recovery from blindfolding, to measure imagery-related activity. Subjective descriptions and graphical illustrations were provided by the subject after blindfolding was completed. Results: During blindfolding, the subject experienced vivid visual hallucinations, consisting of flashes of light and coloured, moving patterns. The hallucinated images become gradually less vivid and lost their colour intensity, but gained in structural complexity during the three weeks of blindfolding. Neural activity related to hallucinations was found in occipital visual, posterior parietal and several prefrontal regions (the left medial frontal gyrus, the bilateral inferior frontal gyri and the bilateral middle frontal gyri). In contrast, mental imagery of the same percepts led to activation in prefrontal, but not in posterior parietal and occipital regions. Conclusions: These results suggest that deprivation-induced hallucinations result from increased excitability of early visual areas, while mentally-induced imagery involves active read-out under the volitional control of prefrontal structures. This agrees with the subject's report that visual hallucinations were more vivid than mental imagery.


(4) A short video of neurologist and author, Oliver Sacks on Hallucinations at New York Public Library (Sep 21, 2009)

Oliver explains that ?the brain is always active? If there is no visual input, the visual system doesn?t shut down? It will start to generate images or hallucinations of its own.? Hypnagogic hallucinations ?as one is dropping off to sleep? are described.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmT7YPtv ... tube_gdata


(5) Another excellent video of Oliver Sacks on TED: What hallucination reveals about our minds (filmed Feb 2009, posted Sep 2009)

Neurologist and author Oliver Sacks brings our attention to Charles Bonnett syndrome -- when visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. He describes the experiences of his patients in heartwarming detail and walks us through the biology of this under-reported phenomenon.

http://www.ted.com/talks/oliver_sacks_w ... minds.html


6) Charles Bonnet syndrome: visual loss and hallucinations

Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2009 August 4; 181(3-4): 175?176.

M.L. Jackson, MD and Joseph Ferencz, MD PhD

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2717672/

Under Differential diagnosis,

Hallucinations may also be prominent in delirium, drug-intoxication states and drug-withdrawal states (particularly alcohol withdrawal) and may also occur as an adverse effect of medication. Hallucinations may also occur in the hypnagogic (before sleep) and hypnopompic periods (before wakefulness).
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