Facial metamorphopsia

In facial metamorphopsia, only faces appear to be distorted. Hécaen and Angelargues (1962) reported paroxysmal perceptual distortion restricted to faces in a series of 3 patients with migraine, whereas single case reports were provided by Curschmann (1916), Barolin (1972), Golden (1979) and Fuller et al. (1993). The following first-hand accounts can be added from migraine sufferers' postings to the Usenet Newsgroups or other Forums in the the internet.

Roger Corman's trash-movie "X" - The man with the X-Ray eyes, 1963. Some psychedelic effects produced by Ray Milland's X-Ray eyes whilst looking at other persons' faces are similar to those experienced in the visual illusion of facial metamorphopsia. © 2006 MGM (see here)

"I have suffered from migraines since I was 5 (I am now 40). When I was young they were always aura, headache, very acute numbness in my arm, tongue and teeth and then vomiting. In the recent couple of years they've become just aura with maybe just a tiny dull headache / no headache... Further to the above I should say that I have a very minor visual problem (migraine based) that has been with me for a few months now on and off. This may sound weird but when I look at someone's face, that person's mouth can appear a little strange for want of a better word!"

(David Thomas, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: Aura, June 11, 2002)

"actually, i just get what i call 'blinkers' - two large black flaps come down on either side of my face and my peripheral vision just disappears completely - and then that narrows into complete tunnel vision and it's fade to black. in between i get what i call the Picasso Effect, where people's eyes suddenly migrate to the same side of their noses when i look at them, or their mouths expand until the corners are nudging their ears, such stuff.

but if i once get the blinkers, it's over - it's into a dark room for three days with the blinds drawn and everyone being very quiet, dammit."

(Alma Hromic Deckert, Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.composition, Subject: Book Lengths, September 25, 2003)

The recurring experiences of facial metamorphosia reported by Tom (who wrote: "I suffered from bad headaches/minor migraine when I was much younger (between 10 and 14 years old) but I've not suffered since", see here) are likely to represent episodes of migraine aura without headache.

"Generally the attacks manifest themselves in visual disortion. Objects I'm focusing on appear to change perspective massively and I 'feel' tiny in comparison. It often happens when I am watching TV or trying to concentrate on someone who is talking to me. Their head will appear to grow in proportion to their body until they look a little like one of those cartoon caricatures."

(Tom, Rikkus Alice in Wonderland forum, February 21, 2005)

"As I mentioned before, when looking at someone speaking, their head will seem to distort. Most often so it becomes larger than usual on their body, but occasionally they will get a 'pin head'. Quite often I will feel I can see lots of extra details I've never noticed before and sometimes it is like I'm actually 'seeing' their head and face in the right way for the first time (as if my usual non-AIWS vision is somehow an 'incorrect' perception)."

(Tom, Rikkus Alice in Wonderland forum, February 24, 2005)

"would seeing someone as having a really big ballon-like head count? When I was little I'd get this all the time, my parents or teachers would look as if they had really big heads and then it would switch to really small. I've never found an explanation and it never happens anymore."

(lil green, LiveJournal for Support Group for Migraine Sufferers, Subject: Distorted vision of human faces, February 4, 2006)

In some cases, the visual effects of facial metamorphopsia may be mimicked by palinopsia, the persistence or reappearance of previously seen visual targets.

"I only get auras occasionally (seems to be only when I'm under emotional stress), but when I do they scare the hell out of me. I don't get the beautiful patterns..... I see full-on hallucinations. Usually of everything looking decayed and bloody.... probably has something to do with my job (I'm in forensics and paleopathology.... lots of corpses and skeletons), but there's nothing more disturbing than talking to someone you love and watching them rot while your head is throbbing. :::shudders:::"

(Raven, Newsgroups: alt.support.headaches.migraine, Subject: The Big Aura!!!, April 23, 2000)

References

Barolin GS. Psychology and neuropsychology in migraine. Res Clin Stud Headache 1972; 3: 126-153.
Curschmann H. Über einige seltene Formen der Migräne. Dtsch Z Nervenheilk 1916; 54: 184-205.
Fuller GN, Marshall A, Flint J, Lewis S, Wise RJS. Migraine madness: recurrent psychosis after migraine. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiat 1993; 56: 416-418.
Golden GS. The Alice in Wonderland syndrome in juvenile migraine. Pediatrics 1979; 63: 517-519. Link to
Hécaen H, Angelargues R. Agnosia for faces (prosopagnosia). Arch Neurol 1962; 7: 92-100.

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