July 13, 2005
Musical Hallucinations
An interesting article from The New York Times on a condition caled musical hallucinations.
"Dr. Aziz belongs to a small circle of psychiatrists and neurologists who are investigating a condition they call musical hallucinations.
They suspect the hallucinations are a result of malfunctioning brain networks that normally allow us to perceive music.
They also suspect that many cases of musical hallucinations go undiagnosed.
Dr. Aziz believes that people tend to hear songs they have heard repeatedly or that are emotionally significant to them. "There is a meaning behind these things," he said.
His study also shows that these hallucinations are different from the auditory hallucinations of people with schizophrenia. Such people often hear inner voices. His patients hear only music.
Dr. Aziz suspects that musical hallucinations will become more common in the future. People today are awash in music from radios, televisions, elevators and supermarkets. It is possible that the pervasiveness of music may lead to more hallucinations. The types of hallucinations may also change as people experience different kinds of songs.
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