(Todd syndrome)

Neurologic disorder that modifies the perception of space, time and oneself.

The patient may present with:

-        micropsia: objects are perceived smaller than they are in reality

-        macropsia: objects appear bigger than they are, causing the person to feel smaller than they actually are

-        teleopsia: objects appear much further than they actually are

-        pelopsia  objects appear closer than they actually are

-        metamorphopsia: objects are transformed (e.g. distortion)

-        alteration of the notion of time or colors

The main cause of this syndrome is migraine (see this term), specifically in children. Another cause is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or herpes virus 4 (HHV-4) infection. These disorders of dissociation may also appear in some forms of epilepsy, intoxication (LSD), episodes of stress or post-traumatic stress yndrome

Anesthetic implications:

longterm migraine treatment must be continued

References :

-        O’Toole P, Modestino EJ.
Alice in Wonderland syndrome : a real life version of Lewis Carroll’s novel.
Brain & Development 2017 ; 39 : 470-4

Updated: December 2018