A Dictionary of Hallucinations

The Dictionary of Hallucinations, second edition, is an alphabetical listing of issues pertaining to hallucinations and other misperceptions. They can be roughly divided into four categories:

1.    Definitions of individual hallucinatory symptoms

2.    Medical conditions and substances associated with the mediation of hallucinations

3.    Historical figures who are known to have experienced hallucinations

4.    Miscellaneous issues

Each of the definitions of individual hallucinatory symptoms includes:

• a definition of the term
• its etymological origin
• the year of introduction (if known)
• a reference to the author or authors who introduced the term (if known)
• a description of the current use
• a brief explanation of theetiology and pathophysiology of the symptom at hand (if known)
• references to related terms
• references to the literature

The second edition of  A Dictionary of Hallucinations serves as a reference manual for neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychiatric residents, psychologists, neurologists, historians of psychiatry, general practitioners, and academics dealing professionally with concepts of hallucinations and other sensory deceptions. This new edition provides updated information and references, and includes newly discovered hallucinations, bringing together contributions by other authorities within the field, with all the entries edited by Prof. Blom.

Doody's Review: The book's purpose is to provide a collection of terms and related information for a variety of clinical and non-clinical applications, that can serve as a springboard for further inquiry about specific and lesser-known sensory phenomena. Not only does this book meet its objectives, but it fills a void in providing a comprehensive list of technical terms matched to otherwise hard-to-describe human experiences.