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Micropsia

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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

Synonyms

Micropia

Definition

Micropsia is a condition in which visual objects are perceived to be smaller than they are objectively sized.

Micropsia can be caused by disorders in areas throughout the visual system. It has been associated with disease of the eye, retina, and with lesions of the central nervous system. Micropsia can be a clinical feature of migraine; stroke; temporal, parietal, or occipital lobe epilepsy; or multiple sclerosis. It is experienced after retinal detachment repair and in presumed ocular myasthenia. In the eye, micropsia may be caused by separation of retinal rod and cone cells via swelling or edema. With decreased density of photoreceptors, an observed object is perceived as being smaller than usual. Micropsia is also thought to occur as a result of impairment of ocular accommodation (i.e., focus) caused by paralysis or natural functional variation. In such cases, it becomes difficult for the person to visually accommodate (focus on) an object that is close....

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References and Readings

  • Ceriani, F., Gentileschi, V., Muggia, S., & Spinnler, H. (1998). Seeing objects smaller than they are: Micropsia following right temporo-parietal infarction. Cortex, 34, 131–138.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Boston University Brigham and Women's Hospital, 648 Beacon Street, 2nd Floor, 02215-2013, Boston, MA, USA

    Thomas M. Laudate

  2. Division of Cogntive and Behavioral Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Ave, 2115, Boston, MA, USA

    Aaron P. Nelson

Authors
  1. Thomas M. Laudate
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  2. Aaron P. Nelson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Professor of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry Virginia Commonwealth University – Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, VCU, 980542, Richmond, Virginia, 23298-0542, USA

    Jeffrey S. Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation Research Center, 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, 07052, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  4. Independent Practice, 564 M.O.B. East, 100 E. Lancaster Ave., Wynnewood, PA, 19096, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Laudate, T.M., Nelson, A.P. (2011). Micropsia. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1383

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1383

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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