Every illusion has a backstage crew. New research shows the brain’s own “puppet strings”—special neurons that quietly tug our perception—help us see edges and shapes that don’t actually exist. When ...

Optical illusions have long fascinated scientists, artists, and everyday viewers. These visual puzzles can make stationary objects appear to move, straight lines look bent, or colours seem to change ...

New York — At the Museum of Illusions in New York City, around every corner is a wonder for the eyes. There's a vase that's a face, art that moves with you, and a room that seems to go on forever.

Researchers investigate how mice process illusions, highlighting the neural circuitry involved in seeing and perception. An illusion is when we see and perceive an object that doesn’t match the ...

An illusion is when we see and perceive an object that doesn't match the sensory input that reaches our eyes. In the case of the image below, the sensory input is four Pac Man–like black figures. But ...

Most people use the terms “optical illusion” and “visual illusion” interchangeably, much like “fluid” and “liquid” or “sofa” and “couch” are synonyms. At first glance, this might be seemingly pedantic ...

A growing body of neuroimaging research is pinpointing exactly how psychedelic drugs hijack the brain’s visual system to ...

Look closely at the repeated 917 numbers and identify the two odd ones before 19 seconds run out. This optical illusion is designed to test focus, pattern recognition, and mental agility.