10 Ways That Peoples Perceptions Of Reality Can Go Awry.

1)Cotard's syndrome

Cotard's syndrome result is thought to occur from a disconnect between the part of the brain that recognize faces and the amygdala area, which associates emotions with that recognition. The disconnect creates a sense that the face or body part seen is not the person's it purports to be because although it is identical, it lacks the emotional familiarity it should have, it cannot therefore be the real thing.
Deluded patients believe they have died or think that parts of their body have died, often claiming to smell rotting flesh about their person. In some forms they think that they have lost their souls or become immortal. Cotards has been found in people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but has also been seen in amphetamines and cocaine psychosis.

2)Alice in wonderland syndrome

Micropsia or Alice in wonderland syndrome is a disorienting neurological condition which affects a sufferers sense of time, space and body image, which are distorted. People or objects may appear tiny or overly large. The condition also effects other senses such as hearing.

A temporary condition, it is often associated with migraines, brain tumors and the use of psychoactive drugs. There is no distinct diagnosis of Micropsia as it is a perception issue rather than one which causes a specific mechanical change to the body's systems.

3)Capgras syndrome

Capgras syndrome is the belief that a spouse or other close family member has been replaced by an impostor. It can also manifest as the belief that their own reflection in a mirror is not their own but that of a stranger. In serious cases it can lead the sufferer to attack the 'impostor'.
The delusion is most common in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, but can occur in cases of dementia or after a brain injury.

4)Fregoli Delusion

Fregoli delusion is a rare monothemic delusion in which a person holds a belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise. The syndrome is often of a paranoid nature with the delusional person believing that they are being persecuted by the person he or she believes to be in disguise.
The condition is named after the Italian actor Leopoldo Fregoli who was renowned for his ability to make quick changes of appearance during his stage act. Like Capgras syndrome it is thought to be related to a breakdown in the ability to emotionally process recognition of faces.

5)Reduplicative Paramnesia

Reduplicative paramnesia is the belief that a place or location has been relocated or duplicated, existing in two places simultaneously, or has been relocated to another site. A person suffering from reduplicative paramnesia may believe that they are in not in the hospital to which they were originally admitted, but an identical hospital in a different location.
Reduplicative paramnesia is one of the delusional misidentification syndromes and is usually associated with injury to the right cerebral hemisphere and frontal lobes simultaneously.

6)Lima Syndrome

Most people are familiar with Stockholm syndrome, were hostages identify with their captors, Lima syndrome is the exact opposite. Lima Syndrome occurs where the hostage takers become sympathetic to the plights and needs of the hostages.
Named after the Japanese embassy hostage crisis in Lima, Peru (December 17, 1996 and ending on April 22, 1997). Members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) took hundreds of people hostage at a party at the official residence of Japan’s ambassador to Peru. Within a few days the militants had released most of the captives including the mother of the President.

7)Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a neurological condition were the stimulation of one sense causes the automatic stimulation of another. This results in the ability to taste shapes or see music. Synesthesia can occur between any two senses or perceptions.
Synesthesia is a difference in perceived experience, such as in colour blindness. No research has ever shown an association between Synesthesia and any other neurological or psychiatric conditions. Synesthesia can usually be divided into 4 main catagories.
Grapheme synesthesia one of the most common forms of synesthesia, letters and numbers (graphemes) are percieved to have colours.
colour synesthesia Individuals experience colours in response to tones or other aspects of sounds.
Number form synesthesia In number form synsthesia, a mental map of numbers is formed in the mind, which automatically and involuntarily appears whenever someone who experiences number form synesthesia thinks of numbers.
Ordinal-linguistic personification This is a form of synesthesia in which ordered sequences, such as months of the year or letters of the alphabet associated with personalities

8)Anton's syndrome

Anton's syndrome or Anton-Babinski syndrome is a form of blindness in which the sufferer denies their visual impairment, despite often clear evidence, that is, they refuse to believe they are blind. They will often attempt to walk around unaided, despite bumping into objects they cannot see. Anton syndrome is mostly seen after a stroke, but is also seen after head injuries. It is thought to be caused by damage to the primary visual cortex.

9)Extracampine Hallucinations

Extracampine hallucinations are hallucinations beyond the possible sensory field, for example hearing somebody talk about you when they are miles away or "seeing" somebody standing behind you. They take place in real time and appear to the sufferer as if true life.

10)Lilliputian hallucinations

Lilliputian hallucinations are complex visual hallucinations of small animals people and objects. they can occur in a variety of conditions from delirium, dementia, toxoplasmosis and migraines. The effects of these hallucinations vary wildly depending on the individual with some people reporting pleasant visions while others terrifying ones. Treatment is usually confined to treating the underlying condition, after which the hallucinations cease.