Alice in Wonderland Syndrome

A favorite childhood story illustrates a specific type of manifestation of auras and seizures that causes perception changes in size, distance, time, and color, especially in children. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome was named by British psychiatrist, John Todd, in 1955, and may also occur in migraines. It should be noted that these are changes in sensory perception, not hallucinations or schizophrenic behaviors.

Thanks for your feedback, please insert your comments below:

Lisa, I find your post fascinating. I like that you covered the actual physical aspects of someone have a seizure and how this could have influenced Lewis Carrol's writing such a beloved novel. It will make me more aware of how a patient actually feels when experiencing a seizure and not just focus on the AEDs and their effects on an epileptic patient. Cindy Maciak

Hi Cindy,

I agree with you! It definitely makes me think of what a patient feels when experiencing a seizure. As health providers, we sometimes tend to shed light and focus on the medical aspect of the disease. Great post, Lisa! Thank you!

Marian Ayad

Lisa, This is a great comparison of focal epilepsy and Alice in Wonderland. The experiences of a patient with focal epilepsy are different from what we expect of a seizure and perhaps his way to describe what he was feeling was in his writing. Great page, love the graphics (Amy Smendik)

Lisa, I really enjoyed reading your post especially because it mentioned one of my all time favorite movies! I find it really fascinating how epileptic patients can almost always feel before they get a seizure and then after the seizure they actually don't remember anything. Its like their life was put on pause for these few minutes. - Nadeen Ayad

Nadeen Ayad,

I also loved this movie as a child! In addition, you have made a fantastic symbolic observation related to this story and how a patient might not remember anything after their seizure - I feel like I have been under a rock for 50 years until this topic was introduced into the class. How could I have not known about the neurological implications found in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Furthermore, I am stunned by the parallels found in this story’s author, Charles Dodgson (aka, “Lewis Carroll”) and his aura with perceptual disturbances diagnosed by his doctor for eleptiform seizures. In Chapter 2, the Pool of Tears could be a consequence of pathological crying. In Chapter 7, the mad tea party illustrates the dormouse suffering from excessive daytime somnolence with the potential for an underlying neurological cause. In Chapters 6 & 9, the very ugly Duchess may even have a dysmorphic syndrome with behavior explaining the neglectful treatment of her baby. Next, somebody is going to tell me that the Mad Hatter was suffering from mercury poisoning with neuropsychiatric syndrome due to his work with felt hats with clinical manifestations expressing timidity, seclusion, blushing, irritability and mood lability. Could the author’s experiences with epileptic auras really have inspired his writings and the sensitivity that he experienced with public judgement and misconception?

[ Comment by Brian Marcantel ]

Brian, it's one of my favorite stories too, and I never thought about a connection between his descriptive passages and visual distortions caused by central nervous system disorders. I just assumed it was the hallucinogenic mushrooms! There's controversy about that too. You might be interested to check out the Lewis Carroll Society of North America's website. They are super-protective of his legacy, whereas other biographers seem more open to discussing many mysteries regarding Charles' life, including this one.

Lisa