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visual illusions

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·June 11, 2024·5 min read

Brain Misleads Sight: New Insights on Visual Illusions

Researchers discovered new variations of the visual saltation illusion, where rapid light flashes in peripheral vision create perceptual errors. Their study shows that our brains misplace the second flash near the midpoint, regardless of its actual position.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·May 25, 2017·3 min read

From Blue and Black Dresses to Turbine Blades: The Science of ‘Fake Fake’ Photos

A new study looks at how visual illusions play on pre-conceived notions people have about objects.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·October 9, 2018·6 min read

Time-Traveling Illusion Tricks the Brain

Researchers have developed two new illusions that shed light on how our senses can influence each other, specifically, how the presence of audio can influence visual illusions.

Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Visual Neuroscience

·May 31, 2019·4 min read

Waterfall illusion: when you see still objects move – and what it tells you about your brain

Researchers reveal what optical illusions tell us about the workings of the brain.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·December 20, 2020·5 min read

Visual Illusion That May Help Explain Consciousness

A new visual illusion sheds light on redundancy masking and how we perceive our visual environment. The findings provide new insight into human consciousness.

This shows a woman looking into a mirror. A child's face reflects back.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 9, 2025·6 min read

Childlike Face Illusion Helps Adults Recall Forgotten Memories

A groundbreaking study has found that adults can recall more detailed childhood memories after briefly perceiving themselves with a childlike version of their own face. Using a virtual “enfacement illusion,” participants saw a live, altered image of their face resembling how they looked as children, creating a temporary sense of embodying their younger selves.

This shows a large black hole surrounded by small black dots on a white background

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Visual Neuroscience

·May 31, 2022·4 min read

This Illusion, New to Science, Is Strong Enough to Trick Our Reflexes

The highly dynamic, new "expanding hole" optical illusion can be perceived by 86% of people. The illusion is so good at deceiving the brain, it causes pupillary dilation as though we are walking into a darkened room.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 13, 2024·5 min read

Illusory Faces Trigger Same Biases as Real Faces

Our brains assign the same biases to faces seen in inanimate objects as they do to human faces. Known as face pareidolia, this phenomenon includes seeing faces in objects like the moon or toast. The study found that feminine-looking illusory faces are perceived as happy faster, while masculine-looking ones are seen as angry quicker. These findings suggest that face-like patterns activate similar socio-cognitive processes as real faces.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·January 29, 2022·5 min read

Everything We See Is a Mash-up of the Brain’s Last 15 Seconds of Visual Information

Researchers reveal how the brain creates an illusion of visual stability.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·August 14, 2020·6 min read

Why the Brain Is Programmed to See Faces in Everyday Objects

Face pareidolia, the phenomenon of seeing facelike structures in inanimate objects, is a perceptual phenomenon that occurs when sensory input is processed by visual mechanisms that have evolved to extract social content from human faces.

This shows a swirling ring optical illusion

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·August 24, 2020·4 min read

Optical Illusions Explained in a Fly’s Eyes

It seems that flies are as susceptible to optical illusions as humans. Turning on and off some neurons that govern motion detection in flies, researchers were able to alter the insects' perception of illusory motion.

This shows two dots against a monochrome gradient background

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·June 17, 2020·7 min read

Study sheds light on a classic visual illusion

A new study sheds light on why we get tricked by a classic optical illusion. Researchers found brightness estimations occur before visual information reaches the visual cortex, probably originating in the retina.

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visual illusions

Brain Misleads Sight: New Insights on Visual Illusions

From Blue and Black Dresses to Turbine Blades: The Science of ‘Fake Fake’ Photos

Time-Traveling Illusion Tricks the Brain

Waterfall illusion: when you see still objects move – and what it tells you about your brain

Visual Illusion That May Help Explain Consciousness

Childlike Face Illusion Helps Adults Recall Forgotten Memories

This Illusion, New to Science, Is Strong Enough to Trick Our Reflexes

Illusory Faces Trigger Same Biases as Real Faces

Everything We See Is a Mash-up of the Brain’s Last 15 Seconds of Visual Information

Why the Brain Is Programmed to See Faces in Everyday Objects

Optical Illusions Explained in a Fly’s Eyes

Study sheds light on a classic visual illusion

Lab-Grown Human Brain Tissue Restores Brain Circuitry in Living Mice

Converging Molecular Signatures of Autism Genes in the Brain

Central Genetic Switch Controls Long-Distance Axon Navigation

Disadvantaged Neighborhoods Linked to Accelerated Brain Aging

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