Peduncular hallucinosis

Peduncular hallucinosis, also known as Lhermitte's peduncular hallucinosis, is a rare neurological syndrome with a relatively rich series of detailed clinical case studies in the medical literature.

The French neurologist Jean Lhermitte in 1922 first wrote about a patient with odd visual hallucinations that were associated with suggestions of brain damage involving the midbrain and the pons. After other case studies were published, this type of presentation was labelled "peduncular hallucinosis."

The accumulation of additional cases by Lhermitte and by others influenced academic medical debate about hallucinations and about behavioral neurology.

Lhermitte provided a full account of his work in this area in his book "Les hallucinations: clinique et physiopathologie" published in Paris in 1951 by Doin publishing.

Contemporary researchers, with access to new technologies in medical brain imagery, have confirmed the brain localization of these unusual hallucinations.

External link

 * Lhermitte's Peduncular Hallucinosis: An historical perspective A review paper presented at the American Academy of Neurology in 1993.