Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS) also known as Todd’s syndrome or Lilliputian hallucinations. In 1955, British consultant psychiatrist John Todd (1914-1987) described Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS) as a confusing neurological disorder which affects people perception which means self-experienced convulsive body image illusions involving distortions of the size, mass, or shape of the patient’s own body or its position in space.
This syndrome commonly arises due to lack of sleep and is caused due to abnormal volumes of electrical activity producing abnormal blood flow in the parts of the brain that process visual perception and touch. Alice in Wonderland syndrome generally starts at the age of six but it is very common for some to experience from childhood to their late 20’s and some may have still problems in their 70’s. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome generally occurs during night time.
Todd named AIWS for the perceptual disorder of altered body image experienced by the character in the famous 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll, possibly based on own migraine experiences with similar symptoms. Since Carroll had these migraine symptoms for years before writing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, it seemed that Carroll had used his experience as a source of inspiration for the novel, in this way this Alice in Wonderland syndrome is named after Lewis Carroll’s famous novel.
In this story, the title character, Alice experiences numerous situations similar to those of macropsia and micropsia. Carroll’s diary reveals that in 1856 he consulted William Bowman, a famous ophthalmologist, about visual appearances of a migraine he experienced. Alice in Wonderland syndrome’s symptom of micropsia has also been correlated to Jonathan Swift’s novel Gulliver’s Travels, based on the small people that populated the island of Lilliput in the novel, which is why this syndrome is also referred to as Lilliputian Hallucination.
Todd revealed that some of his patients experienced severe migraine headaches affecting them to see and distinguish objects as significantly out of proportion. Even though having migraine headaches, none of these patients had brain tumors, damaged eyesight, or mental illness, they were all able to think logically and could differentiate hallucinations from reality.
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome Symptoms
The main sign of Alice in Wonderland syndrome is a migraine which includes symptoms affecting the sense of vision, sensation, touch, and hearing and also, one’s own body image altered. The person may find that they are chaotic to the size and shape of parts of their body. They may even feel that their body is expanding or getting smaller. The syndrome also includes perceptual alterations of the size and shapes of the objects.
People experience Micropsia (objects appear smaller than they are), Macropsia (objects appear larger than normal), Pelopsia (objects appear nearer than they actually are), Telopsia (objects appear much farther than they actually are) or size misrepresentation of other sensory modalities. Alice in Wonderland syndrome is often associated with migraines, brain tumors and the use of psychoactive drugs. These symptoms are common in childhood with many people growing out of them in their teens.
Patients with certain neurological diseases have experienced Lilliputian hallucinations which mean that objects appear smaller than they actually are. Other symptoms include are eye redness, flashes of lights and giddiness, feels a lack of time and space.
Some other common symptoms are a loss of limb control, discoordination, memory loss, prolonged sensation of touch and sound and emotional experiences.
Also read about : Status Migraine
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome Causes
Common causes for Alice in Wonderland syndrome are
- Migraines
- Headaches
- Hallucinations
- Brain tumors
- Temporal lobe epilepsy which causes seizures to occur in the brain
- The Epstein-Barr virus is another cause of AIWS
- Fever, sore throat, fear, and paranoia are some causes
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome Treatment
There is no specific proven treatment for Alice in Wonderland syndrome but there are therapies which can help to manage the primary cause of the condition. Changing of the diet and lifestyle are the two means to ease the chance of developing migraines which could lead to Alice in Wonderland syndrome. Professionals recommend that avoiding dark chocolate, red wine, and strong cheeses can reduce the chances of AIWS.
Treatment is the same as that for another migraine, there are no specific Alice in wonderland drugs available. Preventive medicines such as anticonvulsants, antidepressants, beta blockers and calcium channel blockers are prescribed. Another effective therapy is to join support groups to share one’s experiences in order to learn how to best cope with the condition.
Alice in Wonderland syndrome is untreatable and many people who suffer from this syndrome in their childhood are able to grow out the disorder by their adolescent age. Taking adequate rest when the hallucinations occur and treating the casual factors also helps to overcome the condition.
Sources: PubMed , WikiPedia. aiws.info
Ellie says
I’ve had this for years, now I’m 12 and I know what this is, how am I meant to explain this to people with this stupid name .. LOL
Ange says
I had AIWS as a teenager when I started having “true” clinical migraines with aura. My CTs and MRIs always came back normal, and I had worsening symptoms in response to the usual migraine meds (e.g., Zomig). The doctors decided to give me Fiorinal with Codeine, which didn’t work, either. I just lived with the pain. I had disabling migraines at least once per week for more than 20 years; if I was lucky, they would only last a couple of days each time. I once described it as having someone try to split your skull open with a chisel during the worst hangover you could imagine.
A couple of years ago, I found out I have the MTHFR C677TT homozygous mutation. When I started treating the resulting nutritional deficiencies, my symptoms began to improve. My endocrinologist was not surprised in the least. I further discovered that neurofeedback (biofeedback with EEG) completely stopped a migraine if I went into the treatment office with one. My practitioner believes migraine is a symptom of mis-communication between the two hemispheres of the brain.
Incidentally, no other person in my family has reported having AIWS, although my father’s entire family was plagued with mysterious, lifelong migraines.
Michelle Counts says
Ange my daughter suffered from chronic AIWS following an illness. She also has MTHFR mutations. https://www.facebook.com/audrainwonderland/posts/1970013363318684