Finnish neuroscientists from Aalto University recently published a study detailing how they used Alice in Wonderland to identify early-stage psychosis.

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In the study, first reported by Van Winkle's , the brain activity of 78 people was recorded as they watched Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland . 46 of them had had just one psychotic episode, while the other 32 had no history of psychosis. None of the participants had been diagnosed with psychosis, because that is only linked to multiple disorders.The tests were designed to see if a computer algorithm could pick out psychotic patients from the group. This sort of test has been done before, but only on subjects in a resting state, or completing simple tests like memory games. Alice in Wonderland was picked on account of its surreal nature, because in psychotic patients, the ability to determine what is real and what isn't is changed.Lead study author Eva Rikandi explained that the researchers wanted to see if the algorithm would target an area of the brain called the precuneus, which is linked to memory, self-awareness, and consciousness. It did, and the algorithm was also able to correctly pick out psychosis with an accuracy of 80 percent.Alice in Wonderland is getting a sequel in Alice Through the Looking Glass, which is scheduled for release next year . Last month, Disney unveiled some new posters for the upcoming movie.

Matt Porter is a freelance writer based in London. Make sure to visit what he thinks is the best website in the world , but is actually just his Twitter page