There is NO single test for schizophrenia, which means that many people can go a while without being diagnosed.
But the sooner schizophrenia is treated, the better.
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‘Hollow mask’ video illusion could help diagnose schizophrenia in humans
Schizophrenia is a serious, long-term medical condition that renders sufferers unable to distinguish between their own thoughts and reality.
German experts say the way you look at a ‘hollow mask’ video illusion can help diagnose the condition that affects 685,000 Britons.
The video shows a white face mask spinning in the air.
Scientists have discovered that people with schizophrenia are not fooled by the optical illusion, while the rest of us are.
As the face rotates, most people see the back of the mask, the hollow part, begin to rotate in the opposite direction.
The nose begins to look as if it is pointing out, when it is actually pointing in.
The illusion is said to be so powerful that even when viewers become aware of the illusion, they still cannot make out the back of the mask.
That’s because the illusion appeals to the way our brains process the visual world, German researchers said.
Writing in the journal NeuroImage, experts explain that our brains know from experience that faces are convex (outward-pointing), so our brains process the image in a way that makes sense to us and matches expectations.
And this expectation is so strong that it can override what we actually see.
“Our top-down processing stores memories, just like standard models,” said Danai Dima of the Medical University of Hannover.
“All the models in our head have a face coming out, so every time we see a face, of course it has to come out.”
But not everyone will experience the illusion of the so-called
For example, people living with schizophrenia are said to see the hollow side of the face for what it is.
This is because the sensory and conceptual areas of their brains are wired differently and can override what they expect to see.
Schizophrenics aren’t the only ones who see a concave face: people who are drunk or high can also “beat” the illusion.
symptoms of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a variety of psychological symptoms, including:
- hallucinations: hearing or seeing things that are not there
- delusions: unusual beliefs that are not based in reality and are often contradicted by evidence
- confused thoughts based on hallucinations or delusions
- behavior changes
Doctors often describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness. This means that sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.
Source: NHS
The Sun previously reported on another optical illusion that can help doctors diagnose autism.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education