Pareidolia and clinical reasoning: the pattern awakens

Pareidolia is recognized in humans as young as eight months old.2 Compared with other types of illusion, pareidolia is unique in how the illusion often becomes more intense with increased attention to it. Similar neural processes trigger pareidolic illusions and visual hallucinations, which has led...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2015-12, Vol.187 (18), p.1364-1364
Main Authors: Baylis, Jared, Ting, Daniel K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidental Falls
Aortic Aneurysm - diagnostic imaging
Clinical medicine
Diagnosis, Differential
Female
Holiday Reading
Humans
Illusions - psychology
Medical diagnosis
Medical disorders
Psychology
Ultrasonography
Young Adult
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Summary:Pareidolia is recognized in humans as young as eight months old.2 Compared with other types of illusion, pareidolia is unique in how the illusion often becomes more intense with increased attention to it. Similar neural processes trigger pareidolic illusions and visual hallucinations, which has led to speculation that pareidolia represents a susceptibility to visual hallucinations.1 Conversely, other studies have shown that the right temporal lobe discriminates between real and illusory faces but is highly suggestible, consistent with a more benign prognosis.3
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329
DOI:10.1503/cmaj.151079