Neurons behind illusions: Researchers found IC-encoder neurons in the primary visual cortex that recreate illusory shapes based on feedback from higher brain areas. Old theories confirmed: A new study ...

Most people use the terms “optical illusion” and “visual illusion” interchangeably, much like “fluid” and “liquid” or “sofa” and “couch” are synonyms. At first glance, this might be seemingly pedantic ...

The study of visual illusions in animals provides a compelling window into both the evolutionary continuity and diversity of perceptual processes. Research indicates that many species, from domestic ...

Illusions go viral: From Reddit’s hidden-number spirals to the legendary duck-rabbit, optical illusions keep sparking debates ...

Visual perception of motion and its accompanying illusions has long fascinated neuroscientists and psychologists alike. This research field examines how the brain compensates for inherent neural ...

Allen Institute researcher Jerome Lecoq points to one of the diagrams that was used in a study focusing on how the brain interprets optical illusions. (Allen Institute Photo / Erik Dinnel) Our brains ...

New York — At the Museum of Illusions in New York City, around every corner is a wonder for the eyes. There's a vase that's a face, art that moves with you, and a room that seems to go on forever.

Psychologists have long been interested in how people interpret ambiguous, bistable images, such as the examples below. Bistable images. Top left: faces or a vase. Top right: rabbit or duck. Bottom ...

An example of the glare illusion used in the experiment. A previous study has reported that the central region surrounded by eight circles is perceived to be brighter in the left image (with a ...

In this Ebbinghaus illusion of relative size perception, the orange circle on the left looks bigger than the one on the right - but it is actually 10 per cent smaller. In a new study, medical imaging ...

Most people saw the young woman, but then again, there were more younger participants (with only five above 60). The younger ...