Observations placeholder
Korean prisoners of war
Identifier
001357
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
Sensory Deprivation: Clinical Aspects HERBERT LEIDERMAN, M.D.; JACK H. MENDELSON, M.D.; DONALD WEXLER, M.D.; PHILIP SOLOMON, M.D. Arch Intern Med. 1958;101(2):389-396. doi:10.1001/archinte.1958.00260140221032
Sensory deprivation, a new area of investigation in psychology and psychiatry, has long been familiar to students of certain types of literature.
Autobiographical reports from explorers and shipwrecked sailors have indicated that gross mental abnormalities such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorientation can occur in persons who are isolated for any length of time.
More recently, during the Korean conflict, the effect of sensory deprivation was observed in American prisoners of war who were placed in a highly controlled environment, impoverished of sensory stimuli.