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Although they look normal, people suffering from body dysmorphic disorder(1), or BDD, perceive(2) themselves as ugly(3) and disfigured(4). New imaging research(5) reveals(6) that the brains of these people look normal but function(7) abnormally(8) when processing(9) visual details.

Reported in the December edition(10) of the journal Archives(11) of General Psychiatry(12), the UCLA findings(13) are the first to demonstrate(14) a biological reason(15) for patients' distorted(16) body image(17).

"Our discovery suggests that the BDD brain's hardware(18) is fine, but there is a glitch(19) in the operating software(20) that prevents patients from seeing themselves as others do," said Dr. Jamie Feusner, principal investigator(21) and assistant professor(22) of psychiatry at UCLA's Semel Institute(23) for Neuroscience(24) and Human Behavior(25). "Now that we've identified(26) a possible physical cause, down the road(27) we may be able to pinpoint(28) ways that patients' brains can be retrained(29) to perceive faces more accurately(30)."

Individuals(31) with BDD fixate on(32) an imagined flaw(33) in their appearance or a slight physical abnormality(34). To fix their "problem," they tend to pursue(35) plastic surgery(36) -- sometimes repeatedly(37). They often feel ashamed(38), depressed(39) and anxious(40), increasing their risk of suicide(41).

Affecting an estimated 2 percent of the population, BDD tends to run in families(42) and is especially common in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder(43). Thirty percent of people with BDD suffer from eating disorders(44), which are also linked to a distorted self-image.

Feusner was curious(45) whether BDD patients' brains interfered with(46) the interpretation(47) of visual input(48), and if so, whether this glitch occurred(49) when looking at faces other than their own.