Demon Face Syndrome – Prosopometamorphopsia (PMO)

Do demons walk among us, or perhaps some otherworldly entities that only a select few can perceive? This question taps into our deepest curiosities about the unknown and the unseen. While tales of individuals possessing the ability to see beyond the ordinary, to uncover the hidden truths lurking beneath the surface, might sound like the stuff of movies or legends, there’s a real psychological basis that makes you wonder about the true nature of reality and our experience of it.

In exploring the nature of perception and reality, we look into phenomena like prosopometamorphopsia, where individuals perceive faces in ways that are distorted, often to a frightening degree. Studies and cases, such as those explored by the Social Perception Lab at Dartmouth, reveal how this rare condition can drastically alter one’s perception of human faces, sometimes making them appear demonic. These distortions, while deeply unsettling, underscore the complex interplay between our brains, our perceptions, and the world around us. They serve as a stark reminder of how our focused attention, or lack thereof, can significantly impact how we perceive our environment, potentially distorting reality in profound ways.

In the movie “The Devil’s Advocate,” Kevin Lomax is a successful defense attorney who moves to New York City to work for a prestigious law firm led by John Milton. Throughout the film, Kevin becomes entangled in a web of moral compromises and personal neglect, leading to his wife Mary Ann’s mental breakdown and visions of demonic entities. The real faces of the characters, especially the demonic appearances, symbolize the underlying evil and corruption that Kevin is slowly drawn into. The climax reveals Milton as Satan and Kevin’s confrontation with the consequences of his actions. Ultimately, Kevin experiences a vision of a possible future, allowing him to reconsider his choices and moral direction​​.

Seeing faces as demonic or severely distorted, akin to depictions in some movies, can be symptomatic of a real, albeit rare, neurological condition known as prosopometamorphopsia. This disorder affects the way the brain processes visual information, leading to altered perceptions of faces. Individuals with prosopometamorphopsia may see faces as twisted, distorted, or possessing exaggerated features that can appear frightening or demonic. The condition can stem from various neurological disruptions, such as lesions or abnormal activity in the brain regions responsible for facial recognition, including the fusiform gyrus and the occipital and temporal lobes. While the experience can be unsettling and may seem like something out of a psychological thriller, it’s a genuine perceptual phenomenon that underscores the complexity of the human brain’s visual processing system.

Recent findings in the field of prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), a condition where individuals perceive faces as distorted, highlight the complex nature of facial perception in the human brain. Research conducted by the Social Perception Lab at Dartmouth has shed light on the real-time perceptions of individuals with PMO. Through innovative methods, researchers were able to modify images of faces to match how patients with PMO perceive them, providing a deeper understanding of the distortions experienced by these individuals.

This approach not only aids in visualizing the perceptual distortions but also emphasizes the challenges in diagnosing and treating PMO. The condition is often misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, leading to inappropriate treatments. The research aims to increase awareness and understanding of PMO, highlighting the need for accurate diagnosis and management of this visual system issue​​.

In a separate case study reported in the BMJ Case Reports, a 67-year-old woman experienced prosopometamorphopsia following a stroke in the left splenium of the corpus callosum. This case illustrates that prosopometamorphopsia can be a rare manifestation of neurological damage and may specifically be associated with strokes affecting particular brain regions. The patient observed distortions in the left side of faces, with the left eye appearing displaced upwards and to the side, though she did not experience these distortions when viewing her own face or photographs of faces. This case contributes to the understanding of the neural basis of prosopometamorphopsia, suggesting the involvement of the splenium of the corpus callosum and other brain regions in facial processing. Over time, the patient’s symptoms improved, and they eventually resolved, highlighting the potential for recovery from this condition​​.

In psychology and neuroscience, there are known experiments and studies that demonstrate how our focus and attention can drastically alter our perception of visual stimuli. For example, the phenomenon of change blindness shows how people can fail to notice significant changes in a visual scene if their attention is diverted elsewhere. Similarly, inattentional blindness demonstrates how we might not perceive an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight when our attention is focused on another task or aspect of the scene.

When it comes to perceiving faces, our brains have specialized regions, such as the fusiform face area, dedicated to processing facial features and expressions. If our attention is compromised, whether through multitasking, distractions, or specific experimental conditions designed to alter perception, it’s plausible that faces might appear distorted or unrecognizable. This can be unsettling, leading to exaggerated or distorted perceptions, such as seeing faces as “demonic” or otherwise altered in a disturbing way.

Such experiments underscore the importance of focused attention in accurately perceiving our environment and highlight the complex interplay between attention, perception, and cognition in our daily lives. They serve as powerful reminders of our brain’s limitations in processing information under divided attention and the surprising ways in which our perceptions can be altered when we’re not fully engaged with the visual stimuli in front of us.

As we consider the implications of such perceptual phenomena, we’re left with more questions than answers. Could there be a sliver of truth to the ancient stories of individuals who could see demons, or are these experiences merely the result of our brains’ intricate processing mechanisms going awry? While the scientific exploration of conditions like prosopometamorphopsia offers valuable insights, it also opens the door to broader contemplation about the mysteries of human perception and the very fabric of reality. As we peel back the layers, we’re reminded of the limits of our understanding and the endless possibilities that lie just beyond the reach of our senses.