Heautoscopic hallucinations in first episode psychosis: report of one case and clinical overview

ABSTRACT

Background

Heautoscopic hallucinations are rare visual experiences consisting of the perception of the image of one’s own body or face within space.

Method

The point of view can be internal, like in front of a mirror, or external.

Results

Heautoscopic phenomena are classified among the disorders of somatoagnosia, or disorders related to the alteration of the body schema. It is not clear which sensory system is primarily involved in the generation of this alteration.

Discussion

This case report discusses a 21-year-old male student with first episode psychosis who presented heautoscopic hallucinations. His neurological and medical examinations were unremarkable. By explaining the theoretical background on the heterogeneity of autoscopic phenomena in psychiatric and neurological disease, our clinical observation contributes for the first time to enrich the literature on autoscopic hallucinations in patients with non-affective psychosis.

KEYWORDS:

• First episode pychosis
• schizophrenia
• heautoscopic hallucinations
• out-of-body experiences
• body schema

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).