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If you have ever [imagined / ingrained] a face in an inanimate object, your brain is engaged in a process called pareidolia. This is the [tend / tendency] to see a pattern or meaning [at / in] something, where actually there is nothing [now / there] . Seeing faces in everyday objects is a [commonly / common] experience. Many of us perceive a smiley face in the clouds, in the [froth / forth] of a cappuccino, or in an object as mundane as an electrical plug socket. Scientists from the University of Sydney in Australia [conducted / contracted] a study to investigate whether our brain processes these illusory faces [on / in] the same way it does with [real / reality] human faces. Their research suggests there are some [similarities / similar] in how we recognise both human and "false" faces.

In the study, 17 volunteers looked at a [series / serious] of illusory and human faces. They had to rate the [strong / strength] of emotional attachment they felt upon [seeing / seen] each one. The researchers' conclusion was that the same [neural / neutral] circuitry was involved in determining what was or wasn't a real [fact / face] . Psychologist David Alais said: "We know these objects are not [truth / truly] faces, yet the perception of a face lingers." He added: "We end [down / up] with...a parallel experience that the object is both a [compelling / compel] face and an object." Mr Alais said the brain sees two things at once, and that we focus more on the image of a face than the fact [it / this] is an object. He added: "The first impression of a face does not give way to the second perception of an [object / subject] ."