How/Why do sensory deprivation tanks cause hallucinations?
In: Biology
Long story short, when your brain has very little to no stimuli, it will make something up. Ever been in a really quiet room and you hear a high pitched ringing? Same concept, but with your eyes.
No one really knows. But it is a recognised phenomenon known as “prisoner’s cinema” or “trucker’s cinema”.
Basically in a dark place you will see lights with no source known as “phosphenes”, simply the cells and nerves in your eyes working.
With no external stimulus your mind holds on to these phosphenes and warps them into recognisable shapes like pictures and patterns as it tries to make sense of them, a phenomenon known as “pareidolia”.
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