Brain malfunction theory over body image disorder

The psychological condition affects up to two per cent of the population and causes sufferers to become obsessed about perceived defects in their appearance.

It 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, measuring neural activity.

Patients with BDD demonstrated abnormal activity in brain regions associated with viewing the unaltered and "low spatial frequency" versions of their own faces.