Researchers at Dartmouth College have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of visual disorders, identifying a rare case of Prosopometamorphopsia (PMO) in a 58-year-old man. PMO is a condition that distorts the perception of faces, causing them to appear as grotesquely stretched and almost demonic in nature.
Despite this disturbing visual distortion, the patient was still able to recognize the individuals whose faces he saw as warped. Interestingly, the distortions were only present when looking at real faces in person, and not when viewing facial images on screens or paper.
The patient had a history of head injury and potential carbon monoxide poisoning, but did not use any medications or illicit substances that could have contributed to his condition. To further understand the impact of PMO, computer-generated images were created to visually represent what the patient saw when looking at human faces.
The findings of this study have been published in The Lancet journal, shedding light on the severity of PMO and its effects on individuals. By raising awareness about this rare visual disorder, researchers hope to better understand the underlying mechanisms and potentially develop new treatments to help those affected by PMO.
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