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.
The ‘hollow mask’ video illusion could help diagnose schizophrenia in people
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.
For healthy viewers, the back of the mask will appear convex – like the front of the mask – when it’s meant to appear concave.
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, German researchers have said.
Writing in the Journal NeuroImage, the experts explain that our brains know from experience that faces are convex 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 drunk or high 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.