14 DAY TRIAL // Previous studies have shown that a large majority of people that look in the mirror and don't like what they see actually suffer from a condition known as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). This disease is characterized by the fact that those suffering from it tend to be unable to focus on their face as a whole, and generally tend to take notice of only the flaws, and vastly exaggerate them. Patients also tend to view themselves as horribly ugly and disfigured, and for no good reason. For example, any blemish appears huge, regardless of its actual size, and the condition is detrimental to people's quality of life, e! Science News reports.
According to a new scientific paper, by researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), individuals suffering from BDD exhibit abnormalities in areas of their brain related to the processing of visual inputs. In other words, the condition is hard-wired into their cortices. Moreover, it was also determined that the same regions of the brain that were affected by the dysmorphic disorder were involved in the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a condition that makes patients engage in repetitive, obsessive behaviors over and over again. Details of the new work appear in the February issue of the respected scientific journal Archives of General Psychiatry.
“People with BDD are ashamed, anxious and depressed. They obsess over tiny flaws on their face or body that other people would never even notice. Some refuse to leave the house, others feel the need to cover parts of their face or body, and some undergo multiple plastic surgeries. About half are hospitalized at some point in their lifetimes, and about one-fourth attempt suicide,” UCLA Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Jamie Feusner, who is also the lead author of the investigation, explains. The team adds that, although BDD affects between one and two percent of the general public, not much research has been conducted on its causes and sources.
The UCLA groups conducted a series of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies on 17 BDD patients, who were matched with 16 healthy control subjects. When showed low-resolution pictures of their own faces, and faces of celebrities, the patients exhibited abnormal activation patterns in regions of the brain called the frontostriatal systems, which seems to suggest that they have a problem with analyzing large pictures that do not allow for an excessive attention to details. “This may account for their inability to see the big picture – their face as a whole. They become obsessed with detail and think everybody will notice any slight imperfection on their face. They just don't see their face holistically,” Feusner says.