Study finds clue to why some feel ugly

PEOPLE who have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) may see themselves as ugly because of the way their brains process information about faces

Research suggests the psychological condition affects up to 2 per cent of the population. Those with the condition are obsessed about perceived defects in their appearance.

This can be so distressing that half of those affected end up in hospital at some point, and one in four attempts suicide.

A new study suggests visual processing malfunctions in the brain may play a role in BDD.

Scientists compared 17 patients with BDD and 16 matched healthy individuals who were asked to view photos of their own face and that of an unfamiliar actor.

At the same time their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging, which measures neural activity.

The patterns suggested those with BDD rely on looking for small differences rather than looking at the overall shape and configuration of features, the researchers believe.

Their brain activity showed they concentrated on details of unfamiliar pictures the same way as they did with their own faces, which the control group did less.

Reporting their findings in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers wrote: "Clinically this may account for the impaired ability to perceive the visual gestalt, contributing to distorted perceptions of the individuals' appearance when viewing their faces.

Some of the patterns were similar to those seen in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, suggesting that the two conditions shared similar neural pathways, said the researchers.