Body dysmorphic disorder ( BDD ) affects people of all ages and nationalities. Sufferers often have a low self-image of themselves. Researchers say that this disorder is the result of a brain glitch. This research was led by Dr. Jamie Feusner, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California at Los Angeles. Results of this study has been published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry
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Highlights of the study
a. Researchers studied 12 people during this study.
b. They took functional magnetic resonance imaging of 12 people with body dysmorphic disorder.
c. The scans were taken as the volunteers viewed a black-and-white photo of a face with a neutral expression, a black-and-white blurry image of a face and a black-and-white image looking like a detailed line drawing of a face.
d. The results were then compared with the response of people who do not have BDD.
e. It was seen that people with BDD tended to rely more on the left side of the brain.
f. However, there were no actual structural differences in the brain.
g. They also had a tendency to be more focussed on fixate on faces and heads although other body parts can be involved.