DOUBLE TAKE
What you see in this optical illusion can reveal if you have a serious mental health condition
THERE is no single test for schizophrenia - meaning many people can go for some time without a diagnosis.
But, the earlier schizophrenia is treated, the better.
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Schizophrenia is a severe, long-term health condition which leaves sufferers unable to distinguish their own thoughts from reality.
German specialists say the way you view the 'hollow mask' video illusion can help diagnose the condition which plagues 685,000 Brits.
The video is of a white face mask rotating in mid-air.
Scientists found people with schizophrenia aren't 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 starts to appear as though it's pointing outwards, even though it is actually pointing in.
The illusion is said to be so powerful that even when viewers become aware of the illusion, they still can't make out the back of the mask.
It's because the illusion calls upon the way our brain processes the visual world, German researchers have said.
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Writing in the , the experts explain that our brains know from experience that faces are convex (point outward) so our brain processes the image in a way that makes sense to us and matches that expectation.
And this expectation is so strong that it's able to override what we're actually seeing.
"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 and are able to override what they expect to see.
Schizophrenics aren't the only ones who see the concave face — people who are or can also 'beat' the illusion.
Symptoms of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms, including:
- hallucinations – hearing or seeing things that do not exist
- delusions – unusual beliefs not based on reality that often contradict the evidence
- muddled thoughts based on hallucinations or delusions
- changes in behaviour
Doctors often describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness. This means sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.
Source: NHS
Previously, the Sun reported on another optical illusion which can help doctors diagnose autism.
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