Una alucinación es una percepción que no corresponde a ningún estímulo físico externo. Sin embargo, la persona siente esa percepción como real. Por ello, la alucinación es considerada como una pseudo-percepción dada la ausencia de un estímulo externo. En ese sentido es distinta de la ilusión, que es una percepción distorsionada de un estímulo externo efectivamente existente.

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A hallucination is a perception in the absence of external stimulus that has qualities of real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. They are distinguishable from these related phenomena: dreaming, which does not involve wakefulness; illusion, which involves distorted or misinterpreted real perception; imagery, which does not mimic real perception and is under voluntary control; and pseudohallucination, which does not mimic real perception, but is not under voluntary control. Hallucinations also differ from "delusional perceptions", in which a correctly sensed and interpreted stimulus (i.e., a real perception) is given some additional (and typically absurd) significance. Hallucinations can occur in any sensory modality—visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, proprioceptive, equilibrioceptive, nociceptive, thermoceptive and chronoceptive. A mild form of hallucination is known as a disturbance, and can occur in most of the senses above. These may be things like seeing movement in peripheral vision, or hearing faint noises and/or voices. Auditory hallucinations are very common in schizophrenia. They may be benevolent (telling the subject good things about themselves) or malicious, cursing the subject etc. Auditory hallucinations of the malicious type are frequently heard, for example people talking about the subject behind his/her back. Like auditory hallucinations, the source of the visual counterpart can also be behind the subject's back. Their visual counterpart is the feeling of being looked or stared at, usually with malicious intent. Frequently, auditory hallucinations and their visual counterpart are experienced by the subject together. Hypnagogic hallucinations and hypnopompic hallucinations are considered normal phenomena. Hypnagogic hallucinations can occur as one is falling asleep and hypnopompic hallucinations occur when one is waking up. Hallucinations can be associated with drug use (particularly deliriants), sleep deprivation, psychosis, neurological disorders, and delirium tremens. The word "hallucination" itself was introduced into the English language by the 17th century physician Sir Thomas Browne in 1646 from the derivation of the Latin word alucinari meaning to wander in the mind.

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