[The Alice in Wonderland syndrome: an unusual aura in migraine]

Abstract

Introduction: The Alice in Wonderland syndrome consists in a perceptual distortion of one's body size and shape. It is rarely encountered in adults, where it is mainly associated with migraine with aura and epilepsy.

Case report: A 37-year-old woman had had a migraine without aura since puberty. In the months following a parturition, she experienced several epidodes of unusual auras preceding typical migrainous headache. The aura lasted about 30min and consisted in the feeling of lengthening of the trunk and of the four limbs, associated with a sensation of well-being.

Discussion and conclusion: Epileptologic and experimental data suggest that the Alice in Wonderland syndrome is associated with a transient dysfunction of associative somatosensory areas in the parietal cortex.