May 2nd -- HPPD Day

[David S. Kozin]

The Historical Development of the Current Etiology

Cooper (1955); Elkes, Elkes, & Mayer-Gross (1955); and Sandison, Spencer, & Whitelaw, (1954) published the first accounts of negative consequences from hallucinogen use. Cooper (1995) described one of patient's aftereffects as “Illusions and misinterpretations.” A patient stating seeing a white unicorn from a plant against a shed in the dark.” Additional descriptions include time distortion or feeling of unreality, which are consistent with often comorbid or hallucinogen-induced depersonalization and/or derealization.

Horowitz (1969) described HPPD as a syndrome with specific characteristics and coined the term Flashbacks. The publication included theories to explain HPPD. Horowitz stated listed on theory of HPPD as a “heightened sensitivity to perceptual stimuli as a result of an inability to suppress irrelevant sensory inputs.” Furthermore, Horowitz mentioned the possibility that other sensory modalities are involved, but identified the visual system as most affected. The descriptions from his 1969 paper can be compared with the modern responses given above [note, I include quotes from HPPDonline above]: “halo effects, blurred vision, shimmering, or reduplications of percepts, distortion of spatial places, and changes in coloration.” These are hallmark symptoms with HPPD . Furthermore, Horowitz acknowledged that physical stress and marijuana ares two experiences as precipitants of the symptoms with delayed onset or increase severity by stating, “Marihuana [sic], secobarbital (Seconal), physical fatigue, or stress may produce a state in which flashbacks from previous LSD ‘trips’ are more likely to recur.” Horowitz identifies key features that remain as a foundations for the diagnosis today: common symptoms, the possible delayed onset, cannabis as a trigger, and proposes the first neurobiological explanation involving the “disinhibition” of the process of image formation in the brain. Admittedly this theory is general and intuitive; however, it is contrasted with theories of HPPD such as the view of HPPD as role-playing in individuals who have higher prevalence of fantasy (as suggested by (Horowitz, 1969)

and 160 more pages.

Working on fixing these types of sections. Can't wait to publish it. It will be in hard bound copies with a total of 300? pages including my research, the symptom description and stories of HPPD individuals in the back.

David

[Jay1]

Congrats mate... once again, thank you from all the community and sufferers out there.

[Merkan]

Hope it will be possible to get my hands on one of those copies.

[David S. Kozin]

Going to see my professors now for a 3 hour paper correction and review before sending it off. Here is a section I thought people might have not thought about (writing 200 pages of text now, I am covering it all... ack!)

Admittedly, insuring HPPD remains as a psychiatric diagnosis is one of the realities that the DSM-IV will have: this text is not solely driven by science, but also by practical and political issues faced by practitioners in the United States. In this sense, DSM-IV is primarily an American product that at times may have less relevance to international communities that may not share the same health care financing problems as the United States. A cogent argument could be made that if there was no need for a diagnosis to facilitate access to appropriate mental health services in the United States, the need for the HPPD diagnosis in a Psychiatric manual would not exist; indeed members of the HPPD community would prefer this. Nonetheless, the expectation is that the updated definition of HPPD will provide clinicians anywhere to identify the more severely distressed who may benefit from psychiatric interventions that have proven efficacy with HPPD patients.

[shaolinbomber]

I wasn't aware that there was someone working on the HPPD theory before Dr. Abraham. Horowitz, back in 1969, seemed to have been on the right track from what i've read of his explanations of the causes.

It seems as though the research community has just about everything they need in terms of theoretical approaches and ideas on how HPPD is caused and ways it could be alleviated and now it looks as if all that is missing is the medical equipment to test these theories. I could be wrong though as i'm not at all plugged into the medical research community.

David, have there been any advancments in the technological field of study since you've began your work? The last I remember about it was that the fMRI and the QEEG were the most accurate machines that could identify the problematic areas causing the disorder.

[windscar]

 Any update? 

[Merkan]

This strucked me as well. Interesting, makes you think about all the people who has gone threw the same stuff as we are now.

I wasn't aware that there was someone working on the HPPD theory before Dr. Abraham. Horowitz, back in 1969, seemed to have been on the right track from what i've read of his explanations of the causes.

[Br0k3nS41nt]

As far back as they were hallucinagens. I guess this is what it is to have one foot in the spirit world. Though it would suck if you had no information and your perception forever changed, it would be maddening.