Descriptive Psychopathology: The Signs and Symptoms of ...

256 Section 3: Examination domainsTable 10.1. Psychosensory phenomenaSENSORYDsymorphopsia: Distortions in shapeDysmegalopsia: Distortions in sizeGustatory hallucinations: Experiencing odd (metal), unpleasant (blood), or illogical (death) tastesMacroacusia and microacusia: Illusions of sound intensityOlfactory hallucinations: Smelling odd (intensely sweet flowers), unpleasant (burning rubber),or illogical odors (death)Tactile (haptic) hallucinations: Somatosensory experiences (feeling electricity or insects on one’sbody, sensations of being hit, poked, or pushed)Visceral hallucinations: Empty or cold gastric feelings, warmth about the head or body; feelinginternal foreign objects; a body part composed of alien matter (wood in a limb, chemicalfluids coursing through the body)Complex formed visual hallucinations (autoscopic and panoramic hallucinations): Perceiving twoorthree-dimensional images as if scenes in a move. An image of oneself is termed autoscopicCOGNITIVEExperiences of false familiarityDéjà vu: Intense false feeling of “I’ve seen it before”. Differs from the commonly experiencedsimilar phenomenon by its increased frequency, intensity, and conviction. Similar experiencesare “knowing” what will happen (déjà vécu) or what will be said or heard next (déjà entendu) 12Experiences of false unfamiliarityJamais vu: Non-recognition of familiar objects, sounds, and familiar persons’ voices(jamais entendu), or events and places (jamais vécu)Forced thinking: Intrusive and repetitive thoughts that are often upsetting in content andattributed to external sourcesThought withdrawal: Sudden removal of thought, the “mind” experienced as “going blank”,attributed to external influencesEMOTIONAL FEATURESEmotional incontinence: Emotional expression of unintended laughing or weeping, unrelatedto or an exaggeration of the subjective experienceParoxysmal and transient euphoria or sadness: Elation or despondency without an immediateobvious causeFear: Most common emotional psychosensory experienceRage: Commonly non-goal-directedErotic: Unexpected sexual climax (rare)They involve all senses, emotions, memory and cognition. They accompanycomplex partial seizures, manic-depressive illness, migraine, and hallucinogenicdrug use. They are also features of epilepsy spectrum disorder, a seizure-relatedsyndrome with the perceptual changes characteristic of partial complex epilepsy