An epistemological approach: History of concepts and ideas about hallucinations in classical psychiatry

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to describe how our understanding of hallucinations has evolved over time. Descriptions of hallucinatory phenomena have figured in documents since the beginning of recorded history. Before being considered as a neurological disorder, hallucinations were thought to be manifestations of demons or angels. Many of the hypothesis used to understand hallucinatory phenomena emerged after the discovery of brain areas involved in language production and comprehension. Understanding has significantly developed since the 1990s with neuroimaging techniques.