In the zebra steps, stamped on our shirts or dresses, and even in the form of radiators. Stripes are a pattern that is very present in our daily lives. It may seem unimportant, but a new study by researchers at the Utrecht University Medical Center in the Netherlands has revealed that these “innocent” streaks can be very harmful to the health of some people.
The study shows that this pattern of forms can affect the neuronal activity of some individuals, causing them to worsen their condition if they suffer migraines or headaches on a regular basis, or even causing epileptic seizures. But why?
The cause could be in the so-called gamma oscillations, which occur in the brain when we see certain images (including the happy stripes), but not when seeing others. There is still no consensus as to what the role of these oscillations is, but the new study suggests that they may be linked to epilepsy or anxiety attacks.
In fact, when the researchers manipulated the striped images to transform them into another pattern, they found that the activity of gamma oscillations in the volunteers’ brains diminished.
For the authors of the study, this phenomenon is similar to the one that occurred in 2012 when several cases were reported of people who reportedly suffered epileptic seizures after carefully looking at the London Olympics logo.
