Title |
Neuropareidolia: diagnostic clues apropos of visual illusions
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Published in |
Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, December 2009
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DOI | 10.1590/s0004-282x2009000600033 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Péricles Maranhão-Filho, Maurice B. Vincent |
Abstract |
Diagnosis in neuroimaging involves the recognition of specific patterns indicative of particular diseases. Pareidolia, the misperception of vague or obscure stimuli being perceived as something clear and distinct, is somewhat beneficial for the physician in the pursuit of diagnostic strategies. Animals may be pareidolically recognized in neuroimages according to the presence of specific diseases. By associating a given radiological aspect with an animal, doctors improve their diagnostic skills and reinforce mnemonic strategies in radiology practice. The most important pareidolical perceptions of animals in neuroimaging are the hummingbird sign in progressive supranuclear palsy, the panda sign in Wilson's disease, the panda sign in sarcoidosis, the butterfly sign in glioblastomas, the butterfly sign in progressive scoliosis and horizontal gaze palsy, the elephant sign in Alzheimer's disease and the eye-of-the-tiger sign in pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegenerative disease. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Colombia | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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Korea, Republic of | 1 | 3% |
Spain | 1 | 3% |
Mexico | 1 | 3% |
Unknown | 32 | 91% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 8 | 23% |
Researcher | 4 | 11% |
Student > Master | 4 | 11% |
Student > Postgraduate | 3 | 9% |
Professor | 3 | 9% |
Other | 5 | 14% |
Unknown | 8 | 23% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 10 | 29% |
Neuroscience | 5 | 14% |
Psychology | 4 | 11% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 3% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 3% |
Other | 3 | 9% |
Unknown | 11 | 31% |