Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review
Minor visual phenomena (MVP), such as visual illusions, pareidolias, feeling of presence, and passage hallucinations, are often experienced by patients with Lewy Body Disease (LBD), in addition to complex visual hallucinations (VH), even in the early stages of the disease. This systematic review aim...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Elettra Capogna Virginia Pollarini Alessia Quinzi Lucia Guidi Luisa Sambati Maria Sasca Criante Elena Mengoli Annalena Venneri Raffaele Lodi Caterina Tonon Micaela Mitolo |
| author_facet | Elettra Capogna Virginia Pollarini Alessia Quinzi Lucia Guidi Luisa Sambati Maria Sasca Criante Elena Mengoli Annalena Venneri Raffaele Lodi Caterina Tonon Micaela Mitolo |
| author_sort | Elettra Capogna |
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| description | Minor visual phenomena (MVP), such as visual illusions, pareidolias, feeling of presence, and passage hallucinations, are often experienced by patients with Lewy Body Disease (LBD), in addition to complex visual hallucinations (VH), even in the early stages of the disease. This systematic review aimed to provide an up-to-date literature review of the occurrence and prevalence of MVP in LBD and to assess their potential associations both with VH and visuoperceptual and visuospatial deficits. A systematic literature search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, APA PsycInfo, Scopus, and Cochrane Library, and a total of 44 articles were included. The included studies showed significant variability in the occurrence of MVP in the LBD population and in the assessment methods used, such as standardized scales (e.g., the noise pareidolia test), semi-structured interviews (e.g., the North-East Visual Hallucinations Interview), and clinical descriptions. Similarly to VH, MVP appears to be highly specific to LBD, helping in differential diagnosis from Alzheimer’s Disease. The overall relationship between MVP, VH, and visuoperceptual/visuospatial deficits remains unclear. Some studies found that MVP (especially pareidolic responses and presence of hallucinations) was positively correlated with VH, yet it is challenging to determine whether MVP can be considered a precursor of future VH development. Negative associations were reported between MVP (especially pareidolias) and visuoperceptual/visuospatial abilities. However, it is not clear whether these deficits serve as independent, exclusive factors in MVP occurrence or if they interact with VH as a contributing component. Gaining insight into the occurrence of these phenomena could prove beneficial for differential diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of treatment outcomes in patients with LBD. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2227-9059 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Biomedicines |
| spelling | doaj-art-f2058c6f980d4d98a54b847f835c87e32025-08-20T03:47:48ZengMDPI AGBiomedicines2227-90592025-05-01135115210.3390/biomedicines13051152Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic ReviewElettra Capogna0Virginia Pollarini1Alessia Quinzi2Lucia Guidi3Luisa Sambati4Maria Sasca Criante5Elena Mengoli6Annalena Venneri7Raffaele Lodi8Caterina Tonon9Micaela Mitolo10Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyFunctional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, ItalyFunctional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, ItalyFunctional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, ItalyU.O.C. Clinica Neurologica Rete Metropolitana (NeuroMet), IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, ItalyIRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, ItalyIRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UKDepartment of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, ItalyFunctional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, ItalyMinor visual phenomena (MVP), such as visual illusions, pareidolias, feeling of presence, and passage hallucinations, are often experienced by patients with Lewy Body Disease (LBD), in addition to complex visual hallucinations (VH), even in the early stages of the disease. This systematic review aimed to provide an up-to-date literature review of the occurrence and prevalence of MVP in LBD and to assess their potential associations both with VH and visuoperceptual and visuospatial deficits. A systematic literature search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, APA PsycInfo, Scopus, and Cochrane Library, and a total of 44 articles were included. The included studies showed significant variability in the occurrence of MVP in the LBD population and in the assessment methods used, such as standardized scales (e.g., the noise pareidolia test), semi-structured interviews (e.g., the North-East Visual Hallucinations Interview), and clinical descriptions. Similarly to VH, MVP appears to be highly specific to LBD, helping in differential diagnosis from Alzheimer’s Disease. The overall relationship between MVP, VH, and visuoperceptual/visuospatial deficits remains unclear. Some studies found that MVP (especially pareidolic responses and presence of hallucinations) was positively correlated with VH, yet it is challenging to determine whether MVP can be considered a precursor of future VH development. Negative associations were reported between MVP (especially pareidolias) and visuoperceptual/visuospatial abilities. However, it is not clear whether these deficits serve as independent, exclusive factors in MVP occurrence or if they interact with VH as a contributing component. Gaining insight into the occurrence of these phenomena could prove beneficial for differential diagnosis, prognosis, and prediction of treatment outcomes in patients with LBD.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/5/1152Lewy body diseasevisual illusionspareidoliasvisuoperceptual deficitsvisual hallucinationsminor visual phenomena |
| spellingShingle | Elettra Capogna Virginia Pollarini Alessia Quinzi Lucia Guidi Luisa Sambati Maria Sasca Criante Elena Mengoli Annalena Venneri Raffaele Lodi Caterina Tonon Micaela Mitolo Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review Biomedicines Lewy body disease visual illusions pareidolias visuoperceptual deficits visual hallucinations minor visual phenomena |
| title | Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review |
| title_full | Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review |
| title_fullStr | Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review |
| title_short | Minor Visual Phenomena in Lewy Body Disease: A Systematic Review |
| title_sort | minor visual phenomena in lewy body disease a systematic review |
| topic | Lewy body disease visual illusions pareidolias visuoperceptual deficits visual hallucinations minor visual phenomena |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9059/13/5/1152 |
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