United States: A peculiar case of a neurological disorder has emerged, wherein individuals perceive the faces of those around them as demonic.
More about the disorder
Prosopometamorphopsia, or PMO, is an extremely rare neurological disorder that causes a distorted perception of faces, altering their shape, size, texture, or color.
The distorted appearances are only evident when individuals see people in person, not in photographs or through computer screens.
Ongoing research on the disorder
The recent case has helped scientists gain a better understanding of how individuals with PMO perceive so-called demonic or warped faces. This presents an important opportunity for scientists to conduct more in-depth research on the topic, a possibility they had not previously had, as reported by NBC News.
Researchers at Dartmouth College have created a digital representation of what Sharrah, the most recent patient with the disorder, described to them.
The resulting images, drawn by scientists, have been published in The Lancet on Thursday.
To create visuals, Sharrah was asked various questions by researchers to describe the differences between photographs of people’s faces and the real-life people standing in front of them.
Researchers then used image-editing software to combine all description data and create a modified picture to match Sharrah’s description.
What are the symptoms and causes of PMO?
As per the experts, PMO symptoms persist for couple of weeks or even years, depending upon the severity of the case.
According to NBC News, there are fewer than 100 published cases of PMO in the official repository.
Researchers suspect that the disorder is caused by dysfunction in the brain network that controls facial processing. However, a complete understanding of what triggers the condition is still needed.
Considering past PMO cases, various factors, such as trauma, stroke, epilepsy, or migraines, have been linked to different cases without showing apparent structural changes in the brain.
Possible reasons for the latest case – Experts
Researchers cite two reasons for Sharrah’s recent case. Firstly, he experienced carbon monoxide poisoning about four months before the onset of PMO symptoms.
Secondly, at the age of 43, he suffered a major head injury while attempting to un-jam the handle of his trailer. It was resulted in a backward fall onto a concrete floor, causing him to hit his head. An MRI scan revealed a lesion on the left side of his brain.
Antônio Mello, the lead author and a Ph.D. student at Dartmouth’s Social Perception Lab, stated that other individuals who had visited the lab with PMO symptoms appeared significantly different from Sharrah, as reported by NBC News.
Mello mentioned that some individuals “have seen face distortions since they remember, since they were a child,” and, “For them at least, it’s impossible to find a single event that was responsible.”
Researchers also suggest that there may be underreporting of the disorder.
Additionally, Brad Duchaine, a co-author of the study and principal investigator of the Social Perception Lab, stated, “We’re hearing from somebody new every week or two,” who describes having symptoms similar to Sharrah’s.
Moreover, he mentioned that few patients “don’t tell anybody or tell very few people about it because they’re afraid of what others are going to think.”