CBS Defined

A vision-impaired
person of sound mind experiences
phantom images (visions) in
their visual field.

 
National helpline
1300 121 123

"No-one told me I may end up seeing things that aren't really there."

"How can that butterfly be so vivid when I can't even see my daughter's face?"

"I'm legally blind so why am I seeing animals in stunning detail?"

"I didn’t know what was happening to me. Was this the start of dementia?"

"This weird figure appears almost daily but I know it is not real."

Listen to an ABC radio feature on CBS under 'Support', then 'Podcasts'

Listen to an ABC radio feature on CBS under 'Support', then 'Podcasts'

"The squares start at the floorboards and rise like blue lanterns."

Research papers

A selection of journal articles:

 

Burke, W. (2002). The neural basis of Charles Bonnet hallucinations: a hypothesis. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 73(5): 535-541.

 

Cox, T. & ffytche, DH. (2014). Negative outcome Charles Bonnet Syndrome. British Journal of Ophthalmology, 98: 1236-1239.

 

Damas-Mora, J. et al (1982). The Charles Bonnet Syndrome in perspective. Psychological Medicine, 12(2): 251-261. 

 

Elflein, H. et al (2016). Charles Bonnet’s syndrome: not only a condition of the elderly. Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology 

 

ffytche, DH et al (1998). The anatomy of conscious vision: an fMRI study of visual hallucinations. Nature Neuroscience, 1(8): 738-742. 

 

ffytche, DH. (2005). Visual Hallucinations and the Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Current Psychiatry Reports, 7(3): 168-179.

 

ffytche, DH. (2009). Visual hallucinations in eye disease. Current Opinion in Neurology, 22(1): 28-35.

 

Gilmour, G. et al (2009). An examination of the relationship between low vision and Charles Bonnet syndrome. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, 44(1): 49-52.

 
 
Gordon, K. & Felfeli, T. (2018). Family physician awareness of Charles Bonnet syndrome. Family Practice, 35(5): 595-598. 
 
 
Khan, J. et al  (2008). Charles Bonnet syndrome in age-related macular degeneration: the nature and frequency of images in subjects with end-stage disease. Ophthalmic Epidemiology, 15(3): 202-208.
 
 
Leandro, J. E., et al (2017). The Charles Bonnet Syndrome in Patients With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Association With Proton Pump Inhibitors. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 58(10): 4138-4142.
 
 
Menon, G. et al (2003). Complex visual hallucinations in the visually impaired: the Charles Bonnet Syndrome. Survey of Ophthalmology, 48(1): 58-72.
 
 

Mocellin, R. et al (2006). Neuropsychiatry of complex visual hallucinations. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40(9): 742-751.

 

O'Brien, J. et al (2020). Visual hallucinations in neurological and ophthalmological disease: pathophysiology and management. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 91(5): 512-519.

 

O'Hare, F. et al (2015). Charles Bonnet Syndrome in advanced retinitis pigmentosa. JAMA Ophthalmology, 122(9): 1951-3.

 

Plummer, C. et al (2007). Of Roman chariots and goats in overcoats: The syndrome of Charles Bonnet. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, 14(8): 709-714. 

 

Schultz, G. & Melzack, R. (1991). The Charles Bonnet syndrome: 'phantom visual images'. Perception, 20: 809-825.
 
 
Subhi et al (2022). Prevalence of Charles Bonnet syndrome in low vision: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of Eye Science; 7: 1-12.
 
 
Teunisse, R. et al (1996). Visual hallucinations in psychologically normal people: Charles Bonnet's syndrome. The Lancet, 347: 794-797.