Elsevier

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Volume 30, Issue 1, January–February 1989, Pages 90-98
Comprehensive Psychiatry

Isolated visual hallucinations and the Charles Bonnet syndrome: A review of the literature and presentation of six cases

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Abstract

Vivid visual hallucinations without other psychopathology have been reported for several hundred years. However, there is no consensus on whether these hallucinations should be considered a separate syndrome, the Charles Bonnet syndrome, or whether eye disease or brain disease is a necessary or exclusionary criterion for diagnosing this syndrome. In an attempt to resolve these issues, this article reviews the literature on isolated visual hallucinations and presents follow-up data from six cases. Criteria for diagnosing the Charles Bonnet syndrome are suggested.

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Supported in part by Geropsychiatry Training Fellowship Grant No. MH18316 from the National Institute of Mental Health and the T. Rowe and Eleanor Price Teaching Service.