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body perception

·December 13, 2022·3 min read

A Handy Lesson About Pain and the Brain in Stroke Survivors

Following a stroke, chronic pain can alter body perception and trick the brain into believing the affected hand is a different size. This increases the risk of accidents.

This shows different images of the same woman

Featured Psychology

·November 12, 2021·4 min read

Psychologists Reveal How We Truly See Ourselves by Generating ‘Mental Selfies’

Researchers have devised a method to access people's mental images of themselves and compare this mental image against a realistic image of the person. The study revealed people's mental images of themselves are not necessarily true to life, but are influenced by the kind of personality the individual believes themselves to have.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·September 9, 2020·5 min read

People With Anorexia and Body Dysmorphic Disorder Show Brain Similarities and Differences

Those with body dysmorphic disorder and anorexia have abnormalities in activity and connectivity in visual and parietal brain networks. People with anorexia and body dysmorphia process images with high, low, or normal levels of detail. The abnormalities for low level of detail have the most direct relationship with disorder symptom severity and body perception.

The amygdala is highlighted in this brain scan

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 12, 2019·5 min read

Fear center in the brain protects against illusions

Researchers report inhibited activity of the amygdala makes people more susceptible to deception when it comes to illusory perception. The study suggests the amygdala might help to protect us against distortions in self-perception.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·November 15, 2018·4 min read

Social Media’s Negative Impact on How We View Our Bodies

According to researchers, social media use in young women can have a negative impact on the way they view their own bodies and appearance. The study reports women who engage with photos of friends they consider to be more attractive than themselves feel worse about their own appearance directly after viewing.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·June 30, 2018·4 min read

Sound of Moving Objects Change Perceptions of Body Size

Researchers report a mismatch between the predicted and actual outcome of an action can alter body perception, making a person feel taller.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 10, 2018·3 min read

Our Brains Can Trick Us Into Thinking We Are Thinner Than We Are

University of Western Australia discover why some people believe they may be thinner than they actually are. Researchers report body perception could be a distortion created by our past observations of ourselves and other people.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·July 18, 2017·4 min read

Hearing a Sound Can Alter Perception of Finger Size

Hearing ascending sounds causes people to estimate the length of their fingers to be longer than when they hear a descending or constant sound, report UCL researchers.

Featured Psychology

·July 8, 2016·4 min read

Change Your Perception of Your Body Size in Two Minutes

A new study reports on how the perceptual mechanisms in a person’s brain adapt in response to images of one’s own or other people’s bodies that have been manipulated to look thinner or fatter than they really are.

Drawings of women's bodies. One has an apple overlaided and the other a pear.

Featured Psychology

·November 14, 2015·6 min read

Women With Apple Shaped Bodies More Prone to Binge Eating

According to a new study, women with apple shaped bodies may be at higher risk of binge eating episodes.

This image shows an overweight man's tummy with a measuring tape around it.

Featured Psychology

·August 6, 2015·1 min read

Knowing You’re Overweight May Lead to Further Weight Gain

According to a new study, those who are aware they are overweight or obese might gain more weight than those who are unaware of their weight problems.