I heard recently about a case where some kids viewing some Japanese cartoon came down with seizures and had to be hospitalized. The show was never shown on-air again. I think it was somewhere in the far east about a year or two ago. Anyone out there have any info on this? I am curious as to how something visual would have such a severe physical effect on someone.
Thanks!
harrmill
That was Pokemon – just before Pokemon mader it big here, so nobody knew what they were talking about when the news story broke. The seizures were caused by rapid blinking on and off (dark background/light background) in an episode. I think they changed it or cut that portion before its Ametrican release. Although I’ll bet there are rabid fans out there who have the “uncut” version.
in fact , it was not “never rebroadcast”. IIRC, the clip was shown on the evening news after the seizures, and kids watching the news had seizures. so it goes.
Yes, the strobe-light effect was removed from the cartoon. I was curious how common it was for epileptics to have seizures caused by flashing lights. I remember hearing/reading somewhere that the flickering EXIT signs in movie theaters can be a problem too. And I was thinking of all the other flashing lights one might come across. So I did a little searching, and learned this:
*Contrary to popular belief, only a small percentage of people with epilepsy are especially sensitive to flickering light patterns, such as sunlight, strobe lights or computer screen flicker. Wearing polarized sunglasses may help when the flicker of sunlight is a problem. Sitting back from the TV or computer screen, keeping the room brightly lit, covering one eye when approaching the set, and taking frequent breaks may also help.
Sensitivity to flashing strobe lights is a seizure trigger that runs in families and may be discovered during an EEG (electroencephalogram) test. Occasionally, video games, especially the ones with flashing lights, or alternating patterns of light and dark, may cause seizures in people who have this sensitivity to flickering lights.*
The above information is from The Epilepsy Foundation website
jb_farley is right. It was shown on the news again and more people had seizures, and not just kids.
Some people with epilepsy can have seizures if they see lights blinking or flashing very quickly. This is why if you go to a show or concert with strobe effects you often see warning signs indicating that the show may be dangerous to people with epilepsy.
I’m surprised more people don’t have seizures during concerts. I was at a Third Eye Blind/Vertical Horizon show two weeks ago, and I had a bright strobe light hitting me right in the face at a regular interval. Then again, I’m sure there were many seizures at Beatles concerts, none of which involved epilepsy.
IIRC, if you open just about any manual to a video game or video game system, there is usually a disclaimer among the very first or very last pages about the possibility of seizures in those with epilepsy. It’s usually on the same page as the warning about not using the system or game with a projection television.
as always, there’s a ‘simpsons’ correlation here. there was an episode a while back where they went to japan. bart and lisa were watching cartoons in the hotel room and the one that ‘gives you seizures’ came on - it was called ‘flashing robots’ or something. you see some robot with intense blinking strobe lights for eyes and the next thing you know, the whole family is writhing on the floor. i thought it was funny, but i didn’t know it was a reference to a real thing. excellent.
The cause of the siezures was the rapidly flashing lights, but it also has to do with the way the children were watching. Japanese homes are usually very small, and many people have large TVs. The children reported were sitting about 4 inches from the TV. They were concentrating very closely on the anime, and it caused the siezures.
Or so the morning paper said.
The Pokemon episode in question had a solid background that alternated between red and blue. I saw a quicktime of the clip and it made me pretty nauseous. The cartoon on The Simpsons was called “Giant Flashing Seizure Robots”.
All video games are required to have the epilepsy warning in there now, even though it isn’t very common. IMHO, the worst “seizure inducing” video game is the Jurassic Park arcade game- you’re in a mine cart with a machine gun, shooting all the dinos. At one point you’re in a dark room and can only see during the gun burst flashes.
Doesn’t anybody remember The Andromeda Strain? Flashing red light…epileptic seizure…