If our senses rarely deceive us it is, among other things, because in our brain there are a lot of structures that work at once to have a realistic image of the world around us.

The Alice in Wonderland syndrome is a test of what happens when these processes start to become uncoordinated.

What is the Alice in Wonderland syndrome?

This is a very rare neurological disorder in which visual perception is altered , with things being seen at a size that does not correspond to reality.

Thus, it can happen that the person sees an object as if it were much smaller than it is, or that a giant is created among miniaturized elements, or that the opposite occurs and he notices how elements of the environment or of his own body are smaller than normal.

In particular, it is very common for the visual hallucinations that appear with this syndrome to have to do with the way in which one perceives one’s body parts.

Symptoms of this perception problem

In some cases, Alice in Wonderland Syndrome can be expressed in micropsy, while in others it is expressed as a macropsy .

Micropsy

In the micropsy, everything appears to be significantly smaller than it really is.

Macropsy

In this case, the opposite occurs to what the micropsy defines: elements of the body or the environment are visualized in a deformed way, as if they were much larger than expected.

Other symptoms

The two above phenomena also mean that one is unable to determine very well how far away from oneself an object, animal or person is, which produces disorientation, anxiety and a sense of vulnerability.

These visual hallucinations usually do not last indefinitely, and disappear after a few minutes.On the other hand, it is more frequent that they appear during the night , when there is little light and when you are about to fall into a state of sleep (something that is also common in other forms of hallucinations).

In addition, in some cases the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is accompanied by the loss of the notion of time and/or hallucinations about objects, animals, objects or people that are not really in sight, which aggravates the feeling of disorientation. Sometimes all these visual delusions are accompanied by tactile or auditory hallucinations.

Where does the name of this disorder come from?

The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is named after Lewis Carroll’s famous novel, whose protagonist experienced this phenomenon under the influence of the magic surrounding the region he was exploring.

These parts of the narrative were inspired by the experiences of Lewis Carroll himself, who had this syndrome . However, the symptoms of this disorder are not as stimulating as they were in his literary work, and they produce a notable discomfort.

Causes

Like any neurological disorder, the Wonderland Lycia Syndrome does not have very well known causes, as it is influenced by many things and, in addition, the brain of each human being is something unique and very adapted to the life of each person .

This means that it can be caused by various types of injuries or alterations in the body’s functioning, whether chronic or occasional. For example, problems with blood circulation through the brain may produce its symptoms.

On the other hand, certain lesions and diseases, such as the Epstein-Barr virus, can produce this symptomatic picture , since for this it is only necessary to make the functioning of certain groups of neurons begin to change in a way not foreseen by evolution.

Who experiences it?

The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is much more frequent during childhood and adolescence . From the age of 30 onwards it is much rarer and may in any case appear as a result of brain damage.

Treatment

After the diagnosis of this syndrome is made, a treatment is established that will depend on each case and the causes related to the appearance of the symptoms. Sometimes, better rest and sleep will be sufficient for the symptoms to remit , while in others chronic neurological diseases and alterations must be treated.

In any case, any form of intervention on the Alice in Wonderland Syndrome must be proposed and supervised by a health specialist who is sufficiently accredited and trained in mental health and neurology.

Similarly, the prognosis of this syndrome is very variable , and depends on what the causes are and how easy it is to intervene to solve the problem.