"Demonic Faces: How a Rare Condition Alters Perception"
A rare condition called prosopometamorphopsia (PMO) causes facial features to appear distorted, with a recent study revealing a 58-year-old man reporting seeing faces as "demonic" for 2½ years. Despite the distortions, the patient was still able to recognize people, and researchers used computer software to visualize his real-time perception of the face distortions. PMO is a very rare visual disorder that causes visual distortions of facial features, and experts believe it may result from an injury to specific parts of facial processing networks in the brain. Treatment for PMO should be tailored to the underlying cause, and while some patients recover quickly, others may take years or show no improvement. The study aims to raise awareness of this impactful but often misunderstood condition.