Observations of Sensory Deprivation in a Life-Threatening Situation
NATHAN L. COMER M.D.1,
LEO MADOW M.D.2, , and
JAMES J. DIXON PH.D.
1 Attending Psychiatrist, Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital, 111 North 49th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19139 and Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Woman's Medical College
2 Senior Attending Psychiatrist, Institute of the Pennsylvania Hospital, 111 North 49th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19139 and Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Woman's Medical College
The illusions and hallucinations experienced by two miners trapped together for six days in a situation of marked reduction of sensory input are described. Their mental productions were chiefly related to wishes to be rescued, either by simple means such as doorways and stairs or by more powerful forces such as the Pope. Neither man exhibited evidence of psychosis or marked mental abnormality when examined two and three days after rescue.
