DESERT HALLUCINATION

A term used to denote acomplex visualorpanoramic hallucinationreported by desert dwellers and travellers, which typically occurs during the night, and which may consist ofscenes depicting caravans, rows of soldiers, trees, oases, etc. Desert hallucinations can also affect the *auditory modality. Reportedly, they tend to have a high degree of * xenopathy. They are attributed to the hardships of life in the desert, more specifically fatigue, undernourishment, thirst, and the monotonous character of sense impressions. Desert hallucinations may be related in a phe-nomenological and pathophysiological sense to *hypnagogic and * hypnopompic hallucinations. They should not be confused with the * desert mirage, the * fata morgana or other types of *mirage.

Emminghaus, H. (1878).Allgemeine Psychopathologie, zur Einführung in das Studium der Geistesstörungen. Leipzig: Verlag von F.C.W. Vogel.