Down the Rabbit Hole

Have you ever thought about what it might be like to see the world like in Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? Just like this picture? What if you actually could, and not because of hallucinogenic drugs? Well, for some people, this experience can actually happen.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is an actual medical term that is used to describe certain types of ordinary migraines (AIWS). The name for this syndrome came around in 1955, and was first described by John Todd, an English psychiatrist, who obviously named it after the work by Lewis Carroll (Medterms.com). This term is used to describe migraines in which a person's vision is distorted, which gives him or her the perception that his or her limbs are of incorrect proportion, or that external objects are of the wrong proportion (AIWS). People who have read Lewis Carroll's book will remember the times when Alice ate the cake, and drank the potion to either become larger or smaller. This is how a person with Alice in Wonderland Syndrome feels while experiencing the particular type of migraine. Katie O'Brian describes the symptoms she has due to this form of migraine in an piece about her on ABC News. She claims that they usually happen early in the morning when she first wakes up. Everything seems tiny to her, just as in the book (Youtube). A very important piece of this syndrome is that it tends to be hereditary (Medterms.com).

This is a huge connection between the Arts and the Sciences. The fact that John Todd chose

to use Lewis Carroll's book to describe a medical phenomenon shows that he must have been

at least somewhat literate in other subjects other than his own. Also, without Carroll's work, what

would the nonscientific name have been? Whatever the name would have been, chances are it

would not have been as identifiable as "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." This name gives people,

who may not have even read the book, imagine what these people who suffer from the visuals see.

Now, do you believe what these people see?

Here's a link to Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberywocky", try to say it 10 times fast!

Works Cited

"Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." youtube.com. YouTube. 16 Oct. 2008. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Carroll, Lewis. "Jabberwocky." Jabberwocky. Jabberywocky.com. 1872. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

"Definition of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome." medterms.com. MedicineNet, 31 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Hemsley, Rik. Alice in Wonderland Syndrome. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.

Tenniel, John. Alice When She Was Tall. 1865. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Web. 27 Oct. 2010.