Scientists reveal the secret of "demonic" faces: a rare visual perception disorder

Recently, researchers at Dartmouth College described an unusual case of prosopometamorphopsy, a rare disorder in which people's faces look distorted and "demonic." The study is published in the journal The Lancet.

The 58-year-old man had been suffering from this condition for about three years. People's faces seemed to him to be greatly stretched and covered with deep furrows on the forehead, cheeks and chin. However, when looking at the surrounding objects, for example, cars, houses, there was nothing like that.

It is noteworthy that the patient could recognize people despite the distorted features. In addition, he saw normal faces when viewing images on a screen or paper. The researchers also noted that visual disturbances were not accompanied by delusional ideas about others.

Usually, people with prosopometamorphopsy have distorted faces in all situations. However, in this case, the symptoms appeared only with real people. This allowed the scientists to depict the distortions that the patient saw.

During the experiment, the patient looked at the person's face in front of him and at his own photo on the computer screen. He described his visual impressions, and the researchers made appropriate changes to the photo on the display. As a result, scientists have obtained an accurate picture of how a person with prosopometamorphopsy perceives other people's faces.

According to Dartmouth College professor Brad Duchain, who specializes in research on the processing of faces by the human brain, sufferers of prosopometamorphopsia often do not report their problems with face perception, fearing that it will be considered a sign of a mental disorder.

"We heard from patients that they were diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed antipsychotics, although the problem was in the visual perception system," Duchain said.

The exact causes of prosopometamorphopsy are still unknown, but there are several theories. Researchers associate it with damage or abnormalities in various areas of the brain, including the temporal, occipital, parietal and frontal lobes. It is also known that this disorder manifests itself in epilepsy.