MacBook Pro Screen Issue - Lighter Pixels in Middle of Screen

I've had my MacBook Pro since about July 2010. Recently I've noticed when I have something dark displaying such as a dark coloured image or a movie playing where it goes black, there is an area in the middle of the screen that displays lighter tha the rest. For example if I have a pure black image there is an area of pixels in the middle of the screen that is lighter. Its probably between 5-8cm long and about 4mm in height. Its only slightly lighter so is only visible with darker images.
Is this normal or an issue with my screen? Its very annoying when watching movies or trying to edit photos.
Thanks

The Apple Logo does not have its own light source and generate light, at least on Laptops. It uses the screen's backlight for illumination. This is why you can shine a light through the middle of it and see it coming out on the front of the computer, and is also why the illumination level of the logo coincides with the illumination level of the display. If you dim your display completely so the backlight shuts off, the logo will also turn off.
As a result of this, there is no differentiation between the logo illumination and the surrounding screen, so even if you turn the screen on its brightest and put a completely black texture over the middle of the display, you should not be able to see a change in illumination in the middle, at least from the lighting in the display itself. The only reason why you would see this is if you have a brighter light shining on the back that is contributing to the backlight level in the area of the logo.
If the area of lighter pixels is a sharp square, then it indicates a problem with the screen's output, or a residual image problem of sorts. If you can capture what it looks like in a photograph and post it then that would be great, but without seeing the specific nature of the problem it will be hard to diagnose and your best bet would be to take it into an Apple store to be evaluated.

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