i took a pic of myself...and this 1 pic remains in my brain, like when i watch tv i could see it appear on designs and shapes, i can see that exact pic of myself in the midst of it, is this a normal sickness? have any of u ever heard of such a thing...? is there a function in the brain which memorizes the picture and makes u vision it somewhat when u look at some things. please help
query...please help
- Thread starter adm1
- Start date
Dtergent
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2000
- Messages
- 7,501
How long has it been? You took a pic of yourself through a mirror, right?
It is probably your afterimage, or a sustained image in the negative, produced by the flash.
My cousins and I used to mess around with a flashbulb in a dark room to take "imprints" of each other while our eyes were closed. It is very trippy and nice for hallucinogenics. The image is sustained through some periods of time. For a very bright light it can last beyond one hour, but usually the effect lasts seconds to minutes only.
More on afterimages.
It is probably your afterimage, or a sustained image in the negative, produced by the flash.
My cousins and I used to mess around with a flashbulb in a dark room to take "imprints" of each other while our eyes were closed. It is very trippy and nice for hallucinogenics. The image is sustained through some periods of time. For a very bright light it can last beyond one hour, but usually the effect lasts seconds to minutes only.
More on afterimages.
i always see this picture, forming in different shapes... its been a few months , well...if im walking on the grass i could kind of see it in the grass a bit or on the trees, i dunno why i keep seeing it... is there a function in the brain which remembers pictures and makes u kind of see it in different places???
I'll probably botch some of this:
The eyes convert the visible light they absorb into electrochemical signals that get shuttled to the rear of your brain, where the visual cortex is located. At the cortex, the signals that were transcribed from the image undergo processing. They are stripped of irrelevant data, and the crucial features are reinforced. More importantly, there are association areas in the cortex that act on the signals in the light of memories, drives and emotions. So then when you see, you don't just take a photograph of your environment: you make a painting, one that involves not only your surroundings, but also your memories, desires and emotions.
There are several other complexities at work. Vision is quantized into concrete packets of information that are linked together like the frames on a film strip. Throughout processing and association, each present image melds with images in the immediate future and past. Also, desire is variable, as is memory (you never stop making it) and emotion. So we're working with, what, at least 6 variables that are not hierarchical and not discrete. If you've ever done multivariable calculus, you'll appreciate how hard it is to find the limits of integration of rugged, multidimensional space.
Kaplan and Saddock (more reliable than the DSM because it's not tied to billing) defines Hallucination as "False sensory perception occurring in the absence of any relevant external stimulation of the sensory modality involved." It defines Illusion as "Perceptual misrepresentation of a real external stimulus." People who see a clown with a chainsaw in their room are hallucinating. People who mistake a palm frond's shadow for the hand of Satan are having illusions. From your description, you're somewhere in-between. But since more research has been done on hallucinations, I'll take that route:
There is a little-known disorder called Autoscopic Psychosis. In the DSM, it falls under diagnostic code 298.9: Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. It is defined as "a visual hallucination of all or part of the person's own body." The hallucinatory perception is called a "phantom". It is perceived as though appearing in a mirror. It tends to appear suddenly and without warning. There is very little data about its epidemiology (partially because many insurers don't adequately cover NOS disorders). Its etiology is poorly understood but tied to abnormal, episodic activity in the visual cortex and the temporoparietal lobes (the proposed locus of the sense of self). There's some mention of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (I don't like descriptions involving PDs). It is said to occur in individuals with vivid imaginations and high visual sensitivity. It is said to possibly occur more frequently during periods of stress. What else? Neither progressive nor incapacitating. Here's an interesting tidbit: "Affected persons usually maintain some emotional distance from the the phenomenon, an observation that suggests a specific neuroanatomical lesion."
Since it's not progressive, there's little danger of it being a catalyst for schizophrenia.
I'm too lazy to look for case studies, but it sounds like they'd resemble the (very interesting) symptoms you're reporting.
My earliest memories involve a flat, white, unbounded background. On this background were black outlines of simple geometrical shapes (nothing more complex than a hexagon). The shapes would jump from place to place, but the leaps were too quick to be perceptible. In other words, their motion was quantized. I swear to you that for my first 2 conscious years the only things I saw were these shapes: no humans, no furniture--not even color. I've told this to many people, but the only one whose given me meaningful feedback was a designer at the FIT in Chelsea (or whatever 29th and 9th is in Manhattan). She said, "When you're little, there are no things. The mind hasn't learned things yet. There are only shapes. At some point, these shapes come together to form the boundary between you and everything else. Essentially, they determine your identity. That is the most important moment of your life, as it creates the only thing the mind never loses."
Edit: Don't read the Wikipedia article on autoscopy: they use the term in a different way.
The eyes convert the visible light they absorb into electrochemical signals that get shuttled to the rear of your brain, where the visual cortex is located. At the cortex, the signals that were transcribed from the image undergo processing. They are stripped of irrelevant data, and the crucial features are reinforced. More importantly, there are association areas in the cortex that act on the signals in the light of memories, drives and emotions. So then when you see, you don't just take a photograph of your environment: you make a painting, one that involves not only your surroundings, but also your memories, desires and emotions.
There are several other complexities at work. Vision is quantized into concrete packets of information that are linked together like the frames on a film strip. Throughout processing and association, each present image melds with images in the immediate future and past. Also, desire is variable, as is memory (you never stop making it) and emotion. So we're working with, what, at least 6 variables that are not hierarchical and not discrete. If you've ever done multivariable calculus, you'll appreciate how hard it is to find the limits of integration of rugged, multidimensional space.
Kaplan and Saddock (more reliable than the DSM because it's not tied to billing) defines Hallucination as "False sensory perception occurring in the absence of any relevant external stimulation of the sensory modality involved." It defines Illusion as "Perceptual misrepresentation of a real external stimulus." People who see a clown with a chainsaw in their room are hallucinating. People who mistake a palm frond's shadow for the hand of Satan are having illusions. From your description, you're somewhere in-between. But since more research has been done on hallucinations, I'll take that route:
There is a little-known disorder called Autoscopic Psychosis. In the DSM, it falls under diagnostic code 298.9: Psychotic Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. It is defined as "a visual hallucination of all or part of the person's own body." The hallucinatory perception is called a "phantom". It is perceived as though appearing in a mirror. It tends to appear suddenly and without warning. There is very little data about its epidemiology (partially because many insurers don't adequately cover NOS disorders). Its etiology is poorly understood but tied to abnormal, episodic activity in the visual cortex and the temporoparietal lobes (the proposed locus of the sense of self). There's some mention of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (I don't like descriptions involving PDs). It is said to occur in individuals with vivid imaginations and high visual sensitivity. It is said to possibly occur more frequently during periods of stress. What else? Neither progressive nor incapacitating. Here's an interesting tidbit: "Affected persons usually maintain some emotional distance from the the phenomenon, an observation that suggests a specific neuroanatomical lesion."
Since it's not progressive, there's little danger of it being a catalyst for schizophrenia.
I'm too lazy to look for case studies, but it sounds like they'd resemble the (very interesting) symptoms you're reporting.
My earliest memories involve a flat, white, unbounded background. On this background were black outlines of simple geometrical shapes (nothing more complex than a hexagon). The shapes would jump from place to place, but the leaps were too quick to be perceptible. In other words, their motion was quantized. I swear to you that for my first 2 conscious years the only things I saw were these shapes: no humans, no furniture--not even color. I've told this to many people, but the only one whose given me meaningful feedback was a designer at the FIT in Chelsea (or whatever 29th and 9th is in Manhattan). She said, "When you're little, there are no things. The mind hasn't learned things yet. There are only shapes. At some point, these shapes come together to form the boundary between you and everything else. Essentially, they determine your identity. That is the most important moment of your life, as it creates the only thing the mind never loses."
Edit: Don't read the Wikipedia article on autoscopy: they use the term in a different way.
Last edited: