Some nebulous medical imagery

[摘要] PAREIDOLIA Have you ever looked at a cloud and seen the likeness of a cartoon character? This phenomenon is known as pareidolia. The term comes from the Greek words ‘para’ meaning ‘beside’ and ‘eidolon’ meaning ‘image’. Common examples include the shape of an animal in a puddle or a face within the moon. We subconsciously perceive a meaning, shape, or pattern where they do not exist. It was once considered a symptom of psychosis and dementia but is now recognised as normal human tendency, and there is suggestion that it develops in the first year of life.1Pareidolia is a type of illusion rather than hallucination, as we know the images do not exist. However, there is debate over the relationship to hallucinations and there have been studies attempting to demonstrate using pareidolia as a surrogate marker for hallucinations, but these studies did not prove premorbid pareidolia versus development following pathological processes.

[学科分类] 卫生学