For schizophrenic patients, the boundaries between the
self and the exterior world, or between the self as subject and object, are blurred; the patients may feel that their experience of the subjective self is reduced to the extent that they are completely under the control of an external force. According to Tausk, the loss of ego boundaries in schizophrenia is accompanied by a
regression to pregenital narcissistic states, in which the child could not yet distinguish between the self and the exterior world and believed that their parents or God knew all their thoughts. Tausk observes the gradual transformation of an influencing machine in a young female patient's delusions: Initially manifest in the exact form of her own body, the influencing machine became increasingly mechanical until it lost any resemblance to her physique. The patients often show a remarkable interest in learning about current technology so that they can explain the operation of the influencing machine. Yet, even with the benefit of this understanding, the machine always has a mystical quality beyond explanation. Its described effects include: • Causing the patient to see two-dimensional images as if projected onto their surroundings • Creating and removing thoughts in the patient's mind by means of waves or rays • Producing odd sensations and physiological changes in the body, with particular attention to the sex organs, through electricity, magnetism or other action at a distance. The patient imagines the machine's presence only after a psychotic experience has occurred. The delusion therefore fulfills the patient's need for a causal explanation of otherwise inexplicable events, and indicates that schizophrenia is in an advanced stage of development. ==Notable cases==