Visual hallucinations: causes

Written and reviewed by Dr Ibrahim Imam, Consultant Neurologist. Last reviewed .

Visual hallucinations: causes. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson’s disease (PD). Fully referenced neurology checklist.

Neurological causes

  • Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)
  • Parkinson’s disease (PD)
  • Epilepsy: they are multicoloured, circular, or spherical
  • Migraine: they are linear, black and white
  • Narcolepsy
  • Optic nerve disease
  • Brainstem lesions: these causes peduncular hallucinosis
  • Hemispheric lesions
  • Creutzfeldt Jakob disease
  • Metabolic encephalopathy

Sleep related

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Visual causes

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Psychiatric causes

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Abuse substances

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Other causes

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References

  1. Cummings JL, Miller BL. Visual hallucinations: clinical occurrence and use in differential diagnosis. West J Med 1987; 146:46-51.
  2. Teeple RC, Caplan JP, Stern TA. Visual hallucinations: differential diagnosis and treatment. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry 2009; 11:26-32.
  3. Harding AJ, Broe GA, Halliday GM. Visual hallucinations in Lewy body disease relate to Lewy bodies in the temporal lobe. Brain 2002; 125:391-403.
  4. Barnes J, David AS. Visual hallucinations in Parkinson's disease: a review and phenomenological survey. JNNP 2001; 70:727-733.
  5. Panayiotopoulos CP. Elementary visual hallucinations in migraine and epilepsy. JNNP 1994; 57:1371-1374.
  6. And 2 more. Subscribe to see the full list

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