Finnish researchers tested visual perception of people with and without depression, using small squares of the same colours imposed on different backgrounds. The depressed patients perceived the visual illusion, presented on a computer screen, as significantly weaker. Visual perception is likely linked with the processing of information in the cerebral cortex – the outermost layer of the brain that's involved in sensation, perception, memory and conscious thought. The centre squares of A and B are the same; the centre squares of C and D are the same. 'However, depression cannot be identified by testing visual perception, since the observed differences are small and manifested specifically when comparing groups,' said Salmela.

Source: Daily Mail March 31, 2021 09:37 UTC