Seeing Stars

What can you see here? If we break it down, there are a series of concentric rings, each formed from heptagons laid over each other. But pieced together as a whole – as the brain does in a fraction of a second – most people perceive something that isn’t actually here. Do you see shimmering white lines emanating outwards from the centre? This 'scintillating starburst' and other visual illusions can help researchers understand how the brain assembles a representation of the outside world – 'constructing' scenes that are often a compromise between peripheral and central vision. While researchers search for biological explanations for different illusions, psychologists can make use of how they fool the brain – exploring conditions which carry problems in perception such as schizophrenia.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Michael W. Karlovich and Pascal Wallisch
• Department of Psychology, New York University, New York City, NY, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in i-Perception, June 2021