Sensory deprivation: Information from Answers.com

Flotation tank with flip top lid opened

Sensory deprivation or perceptual isolation^[1] is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch, taste, thermoception (heat-sense), and 'gravity'. Sensory deprivation has been used in various alternative medicines and in psychological experiments (e.g., see Isolation tank).

Short-term sessions of sensory deprivation are described as relaxing and conducive to meditation, if sometimes boring; however, extended or forced sensory deprivation can result in extreme anxiety, hallucinations,^[2] bizarre thoughts, depression and death.^[3]

1 Isolation tank
2 In popular culture
3 See also
4 References
5 Footnotes
6 Further reading

Isolation tank

Main article: isolation tank

An isolation tank is a lightless, soundproof tank in which subjects float in salty water at skin temperature. They were first used by John C. Lilly in 1954 in order to test the effects of sensory deprivation. Such tanks are now also used for meditation, prayer, relaxation, and in alternative medicine.

Isolation tanks were originally called sensory deprivation tanks. They were renamed because it was found that the terminology of "sensory deprivation" negatively prejudiced people prior to experiencing the use of the device. Dr. Peter Suedfeld and Dr. Roderick Borrie of the University of British Columbia began experimenting on the therapeutic benefits of this technique in the late 1970s. They renamed the technique Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) or Flotation REST.

A therapeutic session in a flotation tank typically lasts an hour. For the first forty minutes it is reportedly possible to experience itching in various parts of the body (a phenomenon also reported to be common during the early stages of meditation). The last 20 minutes often end with a transition from beta or alpha brainwaves to theta, which typically occur briefly before sleep and again at waking. In a float tank the theta state can last for several minutes without the subject losing consciousness. Some use the extended theta state as a tool for enhanced creativity and problem-solving or for superlearning. Spas sometimes provide commercial float tanks for use in relaxation. Flotation therapy has been academically studied in the USA and in Sweden with published results showing reduction of both pain and stress^[4]. The relaxed state also involves lowered blood pressure and maximal blood flow.

In popular culture

This "In popular culture" section may contain too many minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (October 2009)

Literature

The Tom Clancy novel The Cardinal of the Kremlin features the descriptive use of a sensory deprivation device by the KGB in brainwashing techniques for counterintelligence purposes.
In the book by George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, sensory deprivation and its possibly mind-twisting effects are very well described in the second half of the story.
Arthur Koestler's book, Darkness at Noon, describes sleep deprivation practices during and between interrogations in the 1938 Soviet Union.
In the Larry Niven novel A Gift from Earth, a sensory deprivation tank is used as an interrogation device; in the story it is referred to as "the coffin cure".
In the H. Beam Piper novel Little Fuzzy, a Company psychologist, Dr. Ernst Mallin, used a sensory deprivation tank on a group of Fuzzies by way of determining how their cognitive functioning differed from humans. Each of the Fuzzies in turn entered a yoga-like state that defeated the effects of the deprivation tank.
In the Marvel Comics series The ClanDestine, Dominic Destine, who has senses that dwarf even those of Daredevil, when living on his family estate, would spend his time in an anechoic chamber, a sort of sensory deprivation room.^[5] He eventually came to wear an isolation shell generator, which creates anti-stimulation aura, as a sort of portable anechoic chamber.^[6]
Irish author John McGuffin wrote a provocative book, entitled The Guineapigs, documenting the chilling accounts of 14 Irish political detainees held by the British Army over an eight-day period during which they were subjected to extreme sensory deprivation. The accounts are graphic, intense and shocking. The first edition, published in 1974, sold 20,000 copies and was banned by the British government after one week on the shelves.
Dean Koontz's The Door to December is about a father who subjects his kidnapped daughter to prolonged periods in a sensory deprivation chamber in order to awaken psychic abilities.
In Dean Koontz's The Husband, there are a few sections relating to a man who was subjected to prolonged periods in a sensory deprivation room, to increase learning. The room is given the name "the learning room".
In the book Psychic Warrior by Robert Doherty, the protagonists are placed in sensory deprivation chambers in preparation for their missions, in order to allow their mind to focus on the "distant present."
In the third book The Passion of fantasy-series Dark Visions by Ljane Smith, a sensory deprivation chamber is used to torture the protagonist, Kaitlyn Fairchild.
In the 1967 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick and Ray Nelson, The Ganymede Takeover, alien collaborator and psychiatric genius Rudolph Balkani uses the sensory deprivation tank to break resistance sympathizer Joan Hiashi.
In the book Tales of Pirx the Pilot by Stanisław Lem, in the chapter The Conditional Reflex, the main character is put to the test known among students as "The Bath", in which the subject (the student) must lay down completely submerged in a pool of salt water, that is heated to such temperature that he cannot feel it anymore. The subject has a mask on his head, that deprives him of smell, hearing and sight. The student has to stay in the water for as long as possible. Any movement or sound made by the student earns him penalty points.
In the book Quiller Barracuda by Adam Hall, a description of hooding is provided by the main character in the chapter "Breakthrough".
In the book Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever by James Patterson, the main character is kept in a sensory-deprivation tank in an attempt to break her spirit.
In the book The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, Robert Langdon is immersed in a sensory-deprivation tank by the main antagonist, Mal'akh. Readers and other characters in the book believe he has drowned and is starting to experience the afterlife, but later the truth is revealed that he is breathing oxygenated liquid.
In the Japanese manga Planetes, an isolation chamber is used to examine the mental stability of potential astronauts.
In The Superman movies, books, and comicbooks, Superman periodically retreats alone for meditation to the so called 'Fortress of Solitude', which could be interpretted as a kind of sensory deprivation chamber, or even psychomantium, for purposes of achieving greater mental focus and clarity in problem solving, or, to contact his father for advice.

Film

The Ipcress File (1965), starring Michael Caine, featured a variation on sensory deprivation in the final scene.
Altered States (1980), starring William Hurt, Blair Brown and Bob Balaban. Based on the novel by Paddy Chayefsky.
In the film Simon (1980), Alan Arkin, who plays the title character, is placed in a sensory deprivation tank and left for several days by scientists who want to brainwash him into believing he is an alien. When he finally comes out of the tank, Arkin performs a pantomime that represents evolution, from primordial ooze to modern man.
In the superhero film Daredevil (2003), the eponymous Marvel Comics character, Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) sleeps in a sensory-deprivation chamber. Because of Murdock's heightened senses, the water in the tank helps to drown out any sound or touch.
In the film The Jacket (2005), Adrien Brody is placed in an improvised sensory deprivation tank as a part of his rehabilitation treatment. The deprivation tank is an important plot element.
The Mind Benders (1962) Starring Dirk Bogarde, Mary Ure & John Clements. After the suicide of a colleague suspected of being a Soviet spy, Dr. Henry Longman (Bogarde) undergoes sensory deprivation in an attempt to clear his friends name.
In the film Shortbus (2006), one of the lead characters, Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) visits a spa with a sensory deprivation tank to meet with Severin to explore her inability to achieve an orgasm.

Television

In many TV-quiz, participants wear headphones and listen music, so they can´t hear right answer before their own turn.
In the television series 24, government agents have used sensory deprivation as a method of interrogation.
In Family Matters, Steve Urkel is said to have a sensory deprivation tank. Laura states that she can hear him sobbing from his sensory deprivation tank.
The 1960s television show The Twilight Zone featured an episode in which an astronaut spent weeks in a secluded chamber in order to simulate a trip to the moon, leading to hallucinations.
In the 1968 pilot to the television series Hawaii Five-O, "Cocoon", Red Chinese agent Wo Fat uses a sensory deprivation chamber to procure information from U.S. agents.
In the television series Alias starring Jennifer Garner, sensory deprivation was used on CIA agent Sydney Bristow by The Covenant in order for them to brainwash her into thinking she was someone she was not.
In the Simpsons episode "Make Room for Lisa", Lisa and Homer go to an alternative medicine specialist that recommends they spend time in sensory deprivation tanks.
The TV series Earth: Final Conflict features sensory deprivation prisons, where inmates float in an oxygenated fluid, completely deprived of all sensory stimuli.
The use of, and mention of, a sensory deprivation tank occurred on several early episodes of Frasier. It was one of Maris' few hobbies.
In the TV series Fringe, FBI agent Olivia Dunham, played by Anna Torv, is placed in a sensory tank in order to connect her mind with another dying, comatose character. Later, she uses the tank to connect with the other characters memories that had left an imprint in her mind.
In a season four episode of House ("House's Head"), Dr. Gregory House undergoes sensory deprivation while trying to solve a medical mystery.
In the episode "Iso Tank" of the TV series Absolutely Fabulous, Eddie and Patsy are in the iso tank while Eddie dreams of her life with a few twists. At the end of the episode, Eddie gets rid of the tank after finding out that she isn't the only one in Britain that has one.
In the anime, Serial Experiments Lain, the episode "Protocol" references John C. Lilly and the use of sensory deprivation tanks.

Music

There is a song named "Sensory Deprivation Adventure" on the album Holding A Wolf by the Ears by American metalcore/post-hardcore band From Autumn to Ashes.
Industrial metal band Cyanotic have a song entitled "Sensory Deprivation" on their 2005 album Transhuman.
The Who's Tommy tells the story about a boy who is robbed of his senses due to a traumatic event. He then regains his senses, forms a cult, in which the people are to wear special lenses that are completely black. They also have earplugs and a cork for the mouth. He does this so people can better understand what he went through.

References

European Court of Human Rights and in a landmark judgement "Ireland v. the United Kingdom" January 18, 1978
Solomon, P. et al. (eds.) (1961) Sensory deprivation. Harvard U Press.
Goldberger, L.(1966). Experimental isolation: An overview. Am. J. Psychiat. 122, 774-782.
Zubek, J. (ed.) (1969). Sensory deprivation: Ffiteen years of research. Appleton Century Crofts.

Footnotes

^ Donald Olding Hebb, Essay on Mind, Psychological Press, 1980
^ Sireteanu R, Oertel V, Mohr H, Linden D, Singer W, (2008). "Graphical illustration and functional neuroimaging of visual hallucinations during prolonged blindfolding: A comparison to visual imagery" Perception 37(12) 1805–1821 doi:10.1068/p6034
^ Stuart Grassian Psychiatric effects of solitary confinement(PDF) This article is a redacted, non-institution and non-inmate specific, version of a declaration submitted in September 1993 in Madrid v. Gomez, 889F.Supp.1146.
- Grassian Psychopathological effects of solitary confinement American Journal of Psychiatry Online 1983; 140: 1450-1454
- Haney Mental Health Issues in Long-Term Solitary and "Supermax" Confinement, Crime Delinquency. 2003; 49: 124-156
- Daryl Matthews. Physicians' Obligation to Speak Out for Prisoners' Health, American Medical Association.
- Karen Franklin Segregation Psychosis
- Harold I. Schwartz, Death Row Syndrome and Demoralization: Psychiatric Means to Social Policy Ends J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 33:2:153-155 (2005)
^ Kjellgren A, Sundequist U, et al. "Effects of flotation-REST on muscle tension pain". Pain Research and Management 6 (4): 181-9
^ Davis, Alan; The ClanDestine (Vol. 1) #6.
^ Davis, Alan; ClanDestine (Vol. 2) #2.

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