Neuroanatomical and neurochemical substrates for visual hallucinations

2012 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22791104
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: NISHIO Yoshiyuki 東北大学, 病院, 講師 (90451591)
• Research Collaborator: HIRAYAMA Kazumi 山形県立保健医療大学, 保健医療学部, 教授 (00218819) ; IIZUKA Osamu 東北大学, 病院, 助教 (50334660) ; MUGIKURA Syunji 東北大学, 大学院・医学系研究科, 講師 (20375017)
• Project Period (FY): 2010 – 2012
• Keywords: 幻視 / パレイドリア / アセチルコリン / レビー小体型認知症

Research Abstract

Visual hallucinations are spontaneous phenomena and hard to detect in experimental settings. Tools to evoke visual hallucinations would enable functional neuroimaging investigations and therapeutic intervention studies. We previously devised a new experimental task to detect and measure hallucination-like illusions in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease. In the present study, we developed another task to evoke visual illusions, which is easier to administer and has simpler scoring system. Using this new test, we successfully evoked hallucination-like illusory responses in patients with DLB. The number of illusory responses was dramatically reduced by administration of donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor. The result suggests the relationship between visual hallucinations and cholinergic insufficiency in DLB.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Delusions of death in a patient with right hemisphere infarction (2012)
  • Author(s): Nishio N and Mori E.
  • Journal Title: Cogn Behav Neurol Volume: 25(4) Pages: 216-23
  • DOI: DOI:10.1097/WNN.0b013e31827504c7.
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Pareidolias: complex visual illusions in dementia with Lewy bodies (2012)
  • Author(s): Uchiyama M, Nishio Y, Yokoi K, Hirayama K, Imamura T, Shimomura T, Mori E.
  • Journal Title: Brain Volume: 135 Pages: 2458-69
  • DOI: DOI:10.1093/brain/aws126.
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Severe olfactory dysfunction is a prodromal symptom of dementia associated with Parkinson's disease: a 3 year longitudinal study (2012)
  • Author(s): Baba T, Kikuchi A, Hirayama K, Nishio Y, Hosokai Y, Kanno S, Hasegawa T, Sugeno N, Konno M, Suzuki K, Takahashi S, Fukuda H, Aoki M, Itoyama Y, Mori E, Takeda A.
  • Journal Title: Brain Volume: 135 Pages: 161-9
  • DOI: DOI:10.1093/brain/awr321
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] False item recognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease (2011)
  • Author(s): Abe N, Fujii T, Nishio Y, Iizuka O, Kanno S, Kikuchi H, Takagi M, Hiraoka K, Yamasaki H, Choi H, Hirayama K, Shinohara M, Mori E.
  • Journal Title: Neuropsychologia Volume: 49 Pages: 1897-902
  • DOI: DOI:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.03.015.
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Illusory misidentifications and cortical hypometabolism in Parkinson's disease (2011)
  • Author(s): Ishioka T, Hirayama K, Hosokai Y, Takeda A, Suzuki K, Nishio Y, Sawada Y, Takahashi S, Fukuda H, Itoyama Y, Mori E.
  • Journal Title: Mov Disord Volume: 26 Pages: 837-43
  • DOI: DOI:10.1002/mds.23576.
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Association of olfactory dysfunction and brain metabolism in Parkinson's disease (2011)
  • Author(s): Baba T, Takeda A, Kikuchi A, Nishio Y, Hosokai Y, Hirayama K, Hasegawa T, Sugeno N, Suzuki K, Mori E, Takahashi S, Fukuda H, Itoyama Y.
  • Journal Title: Mov Disord Volume: 26 Pages: 621-8
  • DOI: DOI:10.1002/mds.23602.
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Visual Illusions and hallucinations in Lewy body diseases (2013)
  • Author(s): Yoshiyuki Nishio
  • Organizer: The International Congress on Mental Dysfunction and other non-motor features In Parkinson's Disease
  • Place of Presentation: (Symposium presentation), Seoul, Korea
  • Year and Date: 2013-04-19
• [Presentation] Visual Illusions in dementia Lewy bodies (2013)
  • Author(s): Kayoko Yokoi, Yoshiyuki Nishio, Makoto Uchiyama, Etsuro Mori
  • Organizer: The International Conference On Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease
  • Place of Presentation: (Poster presentation), Florence, Italy
  • Year and Date: 2013-03-07
• [Presentation] Lewy小体病の幻視:現実と非現実のはざまの知覚 (2012)
  • Author(s): 西尾慶之
  • Organizer: 新潟神経心理懇話会(招待口演)
  • Place of Presentation: 新潟
  • Year and Date: 2012-10-27
• [Presentation] レビー小体型認知症における複雑錯視 (2012)
  • Author(s): 西尾慶之,内山信,横井香代子,平山和美,今村徹,下村辰雄,森悦朗
  • Organizer: 2012年日本神経学会総会(一般口演)
  • Place of Presentation: 東京
  • Year and Date: 2012-05-25