Image Free Thinking

Discover the invisible world of Aphantasia

Discovering everyone around you is visualizing can be hard to wrap your mind around. Join the Aphantasia Network community and connect with other like minds!

Joining Aphantasia Network has changed my life! I really thought aphantasia was holding me back, but now I understand that image-free thinking is my superpower.

aphantasia en
As Seen In
NYT
WSJ
BBC
Forbes logo
CBC
VICE

Start Here

If you’ve just discovered aphantasia and feel lost in understanding it, we made this Aphantasia Guide just for you.

CREATED BY – Aphantasia Network

Featured

How do you describe aphantasia? Founder of Aphantasia Network often gets asked this question. His answer? Think of a horse.
Knowledge of our invisible differences dates back to 340 BC. Aristotle stands at the beginning of this history when imagination was not an established topic of discussion yet.
Why might your mind's eye be blind while your friend can picture crystal-clear images? Shocking insights into the known neurodifferences in imagery vividness.
Aphantasia isn’t limited to just visual imagination; it can impact all sensory imagery in the mind. For example, when most people go to a restaurant and see ...
December 8, 2020
When Tom and I first tell people about his experience of aphantasia we often get asked this question: Do you dream? Tom doesn’t dream visually, he drea...
February 11, 2021
I recently wrote an article on new research that uses electrical stimulation to see what’s different in the brains of people who see vivid imagery vers...
June 13, 2021
My girlfriend has hyperphantasia for all mental senses. It blew my mind when I learned some time ago she can accurately taste in her mind what a dish will ta...
CBC Radio publishes a multimedia docuseries on the discovery of aphantasia and Tom Ebeyer's story building the foundations for a global Aphantasia Network.
December 12, 2019
Dr. Adam Zeman joins Tom Ebeyer for a live Ask Me Anything event to answer the community's questions on aphantasia and hyperphantasia.
February 21, 2021
Adam Zeman shares the rediscovery of aphantasia, a blind mind's eye, in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference and Exhibition.
October 21, 2021
Aphantasia Network
Discover the vividness of your mind's eye. Over 659,178 tests taken.

Watch Latest

What is the true spectrum of mental imagery? Neuroscientist Sam Schwarzkopf from the University of Auckland explores the depths of mental imagery with host Tom Ebeyer of the Aphantasia Network.
February 28, 2024
Dr. Paolo Bartolomeo a neuroscientist from the Paris Brain Institute joined Aphantasia Network to discuss some of the recent aphantasia brain research.
February 13, 2024
A picture paints a thousand words, but what happens when our aphantasia brain can't visualize that picture? Jianghao Liu, a brain researcher from the Paris Brain Institute joins Aphantasia Network to dive into this probing questions.
October 25, 2023

Read Latest

People with aphantasia may struggle with memory recall. This may be because our memories are image-free. But, just because we can't see our memories, does that mean we don't have them? The ability to visualize is not a prerequisite for remembering rich experiences.
Recent research has illuminated the challenges individuals with aphantasia face when remembering the past, shedding light on a concern that resonates deeply within our community.
Whether you’re an aphant or a visualizer, marriage, or any loving partnership, is about commitment. Among other things, commitment means respecting each other’s differences and working through them lovingly.
The concept of 'tokens' and 'types' helped me understand how we think differently: visualizers use specific imagery, while aphantasics excel in abstract thinking.
We’re not — aphants don’t see the world the way most people do. Our brains work differently.
How do you support someone when they suddenly realize they've been blind their whole life? What about when it's a blindness most of the world has never heard of and many don't believe exists? It's called aphantasia. Let's talk.

Latest Discovery

No increase in corticospinal excitability during motor simulation provides a platform to explore the neurophysiology of aphantasia
Esselaar, M., Holmes, P. S., Scott, M. W., & Wright, D. J. (2024). No increase in corticospinal excitability during motor simulation provides a platform to explore the neurophysiology of aphantasia. Brain Communications, 6(2). doi:10.1093/braincomms/fcae084
In a recent study published in "Brain Communications," researchers led by Dupont explored how people with aphantasia, a condition where individuals have reduced or no ability to visualize images in their mind, respond to motor simulations. Motor simulation involves imagining or observing movements, such as a pinch, and is thought to prepare the brain's motor systems for actual movement. The team used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a technique that can activate brain areas involved in movement, to see if there's a difference in brain activity between those with aphantasia and those without. Typically, imagining or observing movements can "excite" the brain areas controlling muscles, making them more ready to move. This was indeed observed in participants without aphantasia. However, for those with aphantasia, this brain excitation did not happen, suggesting that their brains do not simulate movements in the same way. This finding suggests that aphantasia might not just be about lacking visual imagery but could also affect the brain's ability to prepare for movement based imagination or observation. The study applies TMS in aphantasia research for the first time, offering new insights into how the condition affects motor simulation. However, the research also acknowledged limitations, such as the timing and number of TMS pulses used, which could influence the results. Future research could explore these aspects further, using different methods like functional MRI to get a fuller picture of how aphantasia affects the brain. Additionally, studying people with hyperphantasia (those with exceptionally vivid visual imagery) or combining action observation with motor imagery could provide more clues about the spectrum of imagery ability and its effects on motor control. This research opens up new avenues for understanding aphantasia, suggesting it involves broader neurological differences than previously thought.

Discuss Latest

Hello dearest community, kind of a weird question to ask I guess. But I really can't seem to figure it out. There are the tests and I talk to other peop...
March 11, 2024
I remember what people look by a photograph I've seen of a person. I shut my eyes and can conjure up a photograph image of a relative or a friend but I ...
March 5, 2024
Almost simultaneously realising that I am an aphant (three days ago, at the age of 71) and that this "difference" has had a fundamental and positiv...
March 2, 2024
I am brand new to learning I have this. I was stunned. But it may explain something and I wondered about others. I have vivid, colorful, active dreams occ...
February 14, 2024
I wonder if my mind just prefers to process the raw data from my memory without bothering to reconstruct the pictures. Clearly the memory is there or I woul...
A few people cannot conjure up any sound, texture, taste, smell, emotion, or any imagery from their past using their mind's eye. Mind's eye blindne...
February 4, 2024
To me, being a Aphantasian, I dislike being diagnozed with Aphantasia. To me it is just a trait, a charateistic I have. Just like so many other traits we as ...
January 29, 2024
I called NHS 111 to ask what the best way to receive a formal Aphantasia diagnosis (it's currently impossible to get a GP appointment) and they said the...
January 23, 2024
Thank you for the Aphantasia Network! I've maybe been a member for over a year. In that time, not only have I loved the humour, but I have learnt about ...
January 21, 2024
I was privileged growing up, and numerous times, family vacations were Disney-centric. We went to Disneyland and Disneyworld (the former more often than the ...
January 17, 2024
Hi! On the latest news letter, i just want to post a really interesting video, that gave me a similar feeling! I have started to think that my way of "v...
January 9, 2024
Podcasts and audio dramas, hit or miss? I've never been able to really get into audio-based stories because they rely on description. However I recently...
January 1, 2024
Hi, we have just discovered that my 13 year old daughter maybe both Aphantasic & Anauralic (hopefully those are the correct terms). We completed the VVIQ...
December 20, 2023
When I first read an article on aphantasia, I had a real sense of relief. I finally understood a lot of things at once, including why I wasn't visualizi...
November 29, 2023
I tried multiple times to visualize any color apple after a 30 second stare but it didn't work and I just saw a blank, white wall afterwards. I'm w...
November 22, 2023
Are there cognitive therapies to fill the inner void and feel more alive and less isolated?