Alice in wonderland syndrome - Lewis Carroll's novel in a real life: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Background: The neurological disorder known as Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS) is uncommon, disorienting, and perceptual, affecting human perception of sight, sound, touch, and feeling [1]. People with AIWS may develop metamorphopsias, which are changes in how they perceive the size of things or their own body parts [2]. AIWS is still a poorly understood and typically misdiagnosed syndrome [1]. Currently, there is no definitive cause of AIWS [8]. Methodology: Scientific sources were reviewed and analyzed. Publications were searched in English language in the international medical databases PubMed and Google Scholar. Keywords used for the research: “Alice in wonderland syndrome“, “body image“, “metamorphopsias“. Of the 139 results, only those which specifically identified the Alice in wonderland syndrome, its clinical features and treatment were collected. Main results: The name is a reference to Lewis Carroll's children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in which the main character suffers changes in feeling, including the perception that certain body parts have changed size or form or that she has grown too tall or short. [2,4]. Affected individuals can experience alterations in perception, including micropsia (objects appear small), macropsia (objects appear large), teleopsia (objects appear further away than they are), and pelopsia (objects appear closer than they are) [3]. They may also have hallucinations or illusions of their own body image expanding, contracting, or distorting in addition to these changes in perception [5]. Another distinct hallucination includes animals. These hallucinations, known as zoopsia, may feature swarms of little animals or lonelier groupings of bigger animals [6]. AIWS can occur at any age but appears to be more common during childhood. Most patients outgrow these episodes [4]. There is currently no treatment for AIWS. More study is required to determine the precise cause or causes of AIWS and to develop effective therapies for the condition. [7]. Conclusions: AIWS consists of metamorphopsia (seeing something in a distorted fashion), bizarre distortions of their body image, and bizarre perceptual distortions of form, size, movement. There are no current treatments for AIWS.