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Suppression of Complex Visual Hallucinatory Experiences by Occipital Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Case Report |
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| Authors: | Lotfi B. Merabet Masahito Kobayashi Jason Barton Alvaro Pascual-Leone |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Neurology , Laiko General Hospital of Athens , Athens, Greece ekati2@otenet.gr;3. Department of Neurology , Laiko General Hospital of Athens , Athens, Greece;4. Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital , University of Athens , Athens, Greece |
| Abstract: | We report a patient with visual hallucinations and illusions along with an associated visual field defect after bilateral ischemic damage to his occipital visual cortex. These hallucinations were long-standing and of both simple and complex (well-formed) type. Application of low frequency (1 Hz) repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to the occipital cortex led to a complete cessation of visual hallucinatory symptoms. The use of TMS to probe the neurophysiology, and possibly alleviate, visual hallucinatory experiences is discussed. |
| Keywords: | Limbic psychotic trigger reaction Motiveless criminal thoughts Memory retention Non-convulsive behavioural seizures Temporal lobe epilepsy |