We often take it for granted that how we see other masses ’s face matches up with what they really look like , but for a small group of multitude with a rare neurologic disorder , their perception are distorted . Known as prosopometamorphopsia ( PMO ) , for the first time , researcher have now been able-bodied to visualize how multitude with the experimental condition see faces .
PMO is imagine to be a particularly rare shape ; only around 75case reportson it have been publish and as a resultant role , it ’s not peculiarly well sympathize . However , it ’s do it that those with this condition perceive facial features as misrepresented , though how these distortions evidence – such as differences in shape , size , and position of feature – can variegate from individual to mortal .
fancy exactly what people with PMO see can be difficult , as leading author Antônio Mello explained in astatement . " In other studies of the condition , patients with PMO are unable to assess how accurately a visual image of their distortion represents what they see because the visual image itself also depicts a face , so the patients will perceive distortions on it too . "
But the squad at Dartmouth College get across a unique case of a 58 - year - sometime male person who only saw faces as distorted in person , visualise them normally via a pic evince on screen or paper .
Because this patient could see both misrepresented and substantial faces , it stage the investigator with an opportunity to accurately visualize what he was take care . To do this , they took a pic of a person ’s face and then , with the existent soul in the elbow room , showed the photo to the patient on a computer screen and ask him to compare the difference in veridical - time .
This allowed the team to edit the photo on the screen to agree up with the twisting that the affected role was perceiving on the in - person grimace – and it ’s not concentrated to see why he had been describing people ’s expression as “ demonic ” .
The researchers hope that their finding will help clinician become more aware of PMO and gain a better understanding of what their patients are experience . In turn , this could avail to reduce under or misdiagnoses . It ’s often misunderstood as psychiatric , rather thanneurological – for this patient , he might ’ve seen people look like devil , but this was n’t accompanied by any delusional beliefs , like thinking they actuallyweredemons .
" We ’ve heard from multiple hoi polloi with PMO that they have been diagnose by shrink as make schizophrenia and put on anti - psychotics , when their shape is a problem with the visual scheme , " said senior author Brad Duchaine .
" And it ’s not uncommon for hoi polloi who have PMO to not tell others about their job with face percept because they fear others will retrieve the distortions are a mark of a psychiatric disorder , " say Duchaine . " It ’s a problem that people often do n’t understand . "
The study is published inThe Lancet .
