Am J Psychiatry 1975; 132:789-795
Copyright © 1975 by American Psychiatric Association
A cognitive model of hallucinations
MJ Horowitz
Hallucinations occur in a wide variety of altered states of consciousnes
and are an important symptom in various psychiatric syndromes. Several
psychological and biological theories of their origin have offered, ranging
from the concept of wish fulfillment, to the hypothesis of an
electorchemical release of the perceptual system, to denials that
hallucinatory phenomena exist. No explanation has completely satisfied
clinicans, probably because the word "hallucination" labels a complex set
of phenomena. The author accepts this complexity and offers a conceptual
analysis of four key dimensions of the halucinatory experience in an
attempt to clarify the gamut of experiences that may be called
hallucinations.
