Sickened by stripes?
Study suggests the sight of vertical lines might be making us ill
Stripes are ubiquitous in modern life, from business shirts and bar codes to venetian blinds and zebra crossings.
But a study suggests they might be making us ill.
Scientists in the Netherlands and the U.S. have discovered that for some people, looking at vertical lines can trigger a neural loop of activity in the brain.
In severe cases, it can lead to epilepsy, but researchers think it might also be responsible for migraines.
They suggest radiators, escalators, brickwork and even the stripes on deck chairs could set off attacks, seizures or just a feeling of unease.
“Our findings imply that in designing buildings, it may be important to avoid the types of visual patterns that can activate this circuit and cause discomfort, migraines, or seizures,” said Dr. Dora Hermes of the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht in the Netherlands.
“Even perfectly healthy people may feel modest discomfort from the images that are most likely to trigger seizures in photosensitive epilepsy.”
It is already established that flickering or bright lights can trigger seizures or migraines.
In a well-known incident in 1997, one episode of a Pokémon cartoon
Radiator grills can be provocative, and are in fact sometimes covered by patients with pattern sensitive epilepsy.
resulted in 685 people in Japan suffering seizures.
Similarly, an advertisement for the London 2012 Olympics, which showed a diver in a rippling multicoloured swimming pool, had to be altered after it sparked epileptic fits.
But it is the first time that scientists have found that certain still images can have a similar impact.
The researchers think stripes set off a repetitive pattern of neural activity in the brain known as gamma oscillations.
The team is now working on a model to predict which natural images or scenes in a city, train station, or interior are most likely to provoke gamma oscillations and seizures or migraines.
“Radiator grills can be provocative, and are in fact sometimes covered by patients with pattern-sensitive epilepsy,” said Jonathan Winawer, of New York University.
The research was published in the journal Current Biology.