Why do stationary objects appear to move

All they need to do is picture the motion in their minds. Tell a person to close their eyes and picture a long train moving from left to right and they can, upon ceasing the visualization and opening their eyes, see the scenery in from of them moving right to left. If they were to picture dust getting sucked upwards into a vacuum, they'd open their eyes to see downward motion. That was the question settled by an interesting experiment.

The experiment had people read a passage of prose that described either upward or downward motion. The downward motion, for example, might be about a person throwing buckets of ping pong balls off a roof.

It would include a sentences like, "The first wave of walls fell down, bouncing briefly on the fire escape, but still falling. Showers of ping pong balls zoomed down past people's windows, down towards the parking lot. They reached the mid-point of the building, still careening down. The subjects of the experiment moved, immediately after reading their passages, to stare at a screen. The screen showed dots, which moved in a way pre-programmed by the scientists.

Sometimes the dots' movement could be completely random, showing no overall motion. If their movement was altered the dots began, more and more, moving in a certain direction. At a certain threshold, people would be able to perceive an aggregate motion of the dots.

If the motion aftereffect could be brought on by prose, people looking at the dots after reading about downward motion would see upward motion in the dots. This upward motion might not happen when the dots were moving randomly, but it would occur, fore people experiencing motion aftereffect, at a much lower threshold than that of people who weren't experiencing the effect. The results were mixed. Some people did see motion aftereffect in the dots. One is that there may be a psychological-psychiatric basis.

Lest you dismiss that quickly anxiety and depression are "the great pretenders" and cause a huge expenditure of time and money excluding organic disease. The other option is to keep digging. You can bundle her records and have her see the neuro-ophthalmologist there.

I neglected to add in the above post if you choose the first option have her see a psychiatrist. Does she drink diet drinks or eat anything possably containing aspartame?

I have the exact same problem, though with me, I also experience countless floaters, blotches of all colours and shades, as well as a constant need to refocus. I'm seen optometrists, ophthalmologists, neurologists, had multiple MRIs, none of which reached a conclusive answer. Regarding your daughter, does she suffer from the likes of chronic fatigue, headaches and migraines, abnormal heart rate or blood pressure Those symptoms are some of many?

If so, I would highly recommend looking into a condition called 'Dysautonomia', AKA a dysfunctional autonomic system. It is often misdiagnosed as anxiety or depression. It's quite unheard of from most doctors, but there are some really good doctors out there that have studied this rare condition. If in teenage years, it's not uncommon for symptoms to disappear in the early-mid 20s. Though it has been known to return at middle age. For example, I developed dysautonomia when I was 18 and in my final year of high school.

I would highly recommend looking into this condition, especially if she fits one or more of the symptoms I stated above. You can learn more at www.

All the best for the both of you. Thank you for this information! There has been something wrong with me for 4 years now. I did end up having mastoiditis though, and the Doctor didn't remove everything, but my new ENT told me my symptoms were not from that even if the rest of the mastoid needs to be removed. I am going to a new primary care facility, so I am going to ask him about this!

Thank you so much! I highly recommend a sleep study. If I look at a spot on the wall in low light, it appears to be moving down or up the wall. Good luck. Plz tell now she is ok or not my boy is also having the same problem. There has been no activity on this discussion thread in 3 years and you are unlikely to get a reply.

I suggest you make a new post of the problem you son has. I was wondering if you found anything else out about it? Has it resolved, did they find out what it was, is she doing okay? I also sent this to your inbox. It is unlikely you'll be reading this but it may help someone else. Using our state-of-the-art technology, we can perform a highly specialized test to determine the root cause of your oscillopsia, which will guide our treatment plan.

Oscillopsia is the sensation that the visual world around you is fundamentally unstable. If you are driving around in a car, signs on the side of the road will appear to be moving or jumping around. This condition can cause significant distress and anxiety, and can compromise your general quality of life.

There are two types of oscillopsia: permanent and paroxysmal. Permanent oscillopsia occurs due to a misalignment in your eyes, while paroxysmal oscillopsia often results from an abnormality in your vestibular system, which controls your sense of balance. Simply moving your head is enough to trigger the visual instability, but bigger movements like walking, running or driving in a car can be particularly disorienting for patients with this condition.

Vertical heterophoria VH is a condition that results from a misalignment in your eyes, which causes you to see images unevenly—e. Your brain rejects double images, so it forces your extraocular muscles, the tiny muscles that control the movement of your eyes, to correct the misalignment so one clear image is transmitted.

The work of constantly having to correct the misalignment in your eyes can cause your ocular muscles to become strained and fatigued, which leads to a number of symptoms including headaches and dizziness. It can also cause oscillopsia and related symptoms of blurred or shaky vision. During a two-hour exam, we will use our state-of-the-art equipment to look for the tiny misalignments in your eyes that are indicative of VH and oscillopsia.

We use special aligning prismatic lenses to treat these conditions. Unlike typical eyeglass lenses, which correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, our aligning prismatic lenses correct the misalignment in your eyes that is putting the strain on your extraocular muscles. This treatment can dramatically reduce or even completely eliminate symptoms. For more information on VH and oscillopsia, or to schedule an appointment, call the Neuro Visual Center of New York today at Cheryl specializes in the optometric treatment of dizziness and headaches utilizing the Feinberg method.

She is the only practitioner in the state of New York trained by Dr. Debby Feinberg of Vision Specialists of Michigan. Cheryl Berger Israeloff Dr. Understanding Oscillopsia Oscillopsia is the sensation that the visual world around you is fundamentally unstable. Oscillopsia and Vertical Heterophoria Vertical heterophoria VH is a condition that results from a misalignment in your eyes, which causes you to see images unevenly—e.

Our Diagnosis and Treatment Process During a two-hour exam, we will use our state-of-the-art equipment to look for the tiny misalignments in your eyes that are indicative of VH and oscillopsia.