AN optical illusion involving the hollow side of a mask reveals shocking truths about how your brain is wired.
Known as the hollow mask illusion, the image is said to activate certain regions of the brain.
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The rotating hollow mask presents an optical illusion
In video of the illusion, viewers most often perceive the concave side of the face (the back of a mask) as the same as the side showing the “normal” face.
The illusion is said to be so powerful that even when viewers become aware of the illusion, they still can’t make out the concave face.
It’s because the illusion calls upon the way our brain processes the visual world, Wired Magazine reports.
This means the brain is using bottom-up processing, or what it usually sees, with top-down processing, which is what it expects to see based on previous experiences.
Because of this, we may not pick up on the shadows and depth of the back of the mask.
“Our top-down processing holds memories, like stock models,” Danai Dima of Hannover Medical University was quoted as saying.
“All the models in our head have a face coming out, so whenever we see a face, of course if has to come out.”
But not everyone will experience the so-called illusion.
For example, those who live with schizophrenia reportedly see the hollow side of the face for what it is.
That’s because the sensory and conceptual areas of their brains are wired differently.
The same may be true for those who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The face presents an interesting illusion for other reasons as well.
Some neuroscientists believe we have special relationships to faces, as we have regions of the brain specifically dedicated to processing them.
This makes it difficult to process the illusion.
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Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education