Sleep-Related Hallucinations

Flavie Waters; Ivan Ling; Somayyeh Azimi; Jan Dirk Blom

doi:10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.10.008

Sleep-Related Hallucinations

Sleep Med Clin. 2024 Mar;19(1):143-157. doi: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.10.008. Epub 2023 Nov 29.

Authors

Flavie Waters¹, Ivan Ling², Somayyeh Azimi³, Jan Dirk Blom⁴

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Research Centre, Graylands Hospital, North Metropolitan Health Service Mental Health, Brockway Road, John XXIII Avenue, Mount Claremont, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: flavie.waters@health.wa.gov.au.
² West Australian Sleep Disorders Research Institute, Perth, Australia; Department of Pulmonary Physiology & Sleep Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, 5th Floor, G-block, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
³ Clinical Research Centre, Graylands Hospital, North Metropolitan Health Service Mental Health, Brockway Road, John XXIII Avenue, Mount Claremont, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁴ Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, Kiwistraat 43, The Hague 2552 DH, the Netherlands; Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.

PMID: 38368061
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.10.008

Abstract

The diagnostic category of sleep-related hallucinations (SRH) replaces the previous category of Terrifying Hypnagogic Hallucinations in the 2001 edition of International Classification of Sleep Disorders-R. Hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations (HHH) that occur in the absence of other symptoms or disorder and, within the limits of normal sleep, are most likely non-pathological. By contrast, complex nocturnal visual hallucinations (CNVH) may reflect a dimension of psychopathology reflecting different combinations of etiologic influences. The identification and conceptualization of CNVH is relatively new, and more research is needed to clarify whether CNVH share common mechanisms with HHH.

Keywords: Classification; Dream-like experiences; Hallucinations; Hypnagogia; Hypnagogic; Hypnopompic.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Hallucinations* / diagnosis
Hallucinations* / etiology
Humans
Sleep
Sleep Wake Disorders* / complications
Sleep Wake Disorders* / diagnosis