Articles
Stories from people with aphantasia, what the research says, and things to try.
Aphantasia and ADHD: You Asked, We Dug Into the Research
If you've ever felt like your aphantasia and ADHD are tangled together in ways you can't quite explain, you're not alone. Researchers are beginning to untangle that same thread — and what they're finding suggests the mind's eye depends on attention in ways we're only starting to understand.
Tom Ebeyer · October 2025
Mental Health Breakthrough: Aphantasia Does Not Shield Against PTSD
How aphantasia affects mental health treatment, revealing that while aphantasics don't experience visual flashbacks, they still feel emotions intensely, requiring alternative therapeutic approaches beyond traditional imagery-based techniques.
Reshanne Reeder · March 2025
Unconscious Imagery in Aphantasia: Understanding The Scientific Debate
Have you ever described a memory in vivid detail despite seeing nothing in your mind? It raises a fascinating question: could our brains be processing images... we just can't consciously access?
Tom Ebeyer · March 2025
Expanding Aphantasia Definition: Researchers Propose New Boundaries
Researchers expand aphantasia definition beyond "inability to visualize." This broader framework impacts how we understand and identify with the condition.
Tom Ebeyer · January 2025
Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia: What We Know After a Decade of Research
Since 2015, "aphantasia" has reshaped our understanding of imagination, revealing that not everyone visualizes mentally. This discovery, along with "hyperphantasia," highlights the diverse nature of human imagination.
Tom Ebeyer · May 2024
How Aphantasia Affects Memory: Research Reveals Why Remembering the Past Is Challenging
New research from the University of Bonn reveals how aphantasia affects memory, particularly when remembering the past. The study of 30 participants found that people with aphantasia experience significant challenges in recalling autobiographical memories.
Tom Ebeyer · March 2024
Can Hypnosis Work on Those With Aphantasia?
A hypnotherapist with aphantasia explains hypnosis and how hypnosis can work for aphantasics.
Paulina Trevena · October 2023
The Visualizer’s Fallacy
Understanding the hidden assumptions that lead to biases against aphantasics’ cognitive abilities.
Christian Scholz · September 2023
Revisualizing the Role of Imagery in Mental Healthcare
Visualization is often used in mental wellness and therapy, but what does this mean for those with aphantasia?
Reshanne Reeder · May 2023
Impact of Aphantasia on the Reading Experience
Does aphantasia impact the reading experience? Exploring the relationship between reading preferences and mental imagery.
Rosina Williams · April 2023
Less Sensory Overwhelm in Aphantasia: A Potential Advantage?
Vividness of mental imagery appears to be linked to level of sensory sensitivity, with lower imagery associated with lower sensory sensitivity.
Carla Dance · January 2022
Pseudo-Hallucinations and Aphantasia
Ganzflicker is known to elicit the experience of pseudo-hallucinations... But how is it that some people see complex hallucinations such as "old stone castles"?
Reshanne Reeder · June 2021
Aphantasia Explained: Some People Can’t Form Mental Pictures
How do you draw from memory if you can't form mental pictures? Evidently, you don’t need to “see” with the mind’s eye to carry-out these tasks.
Dr Zoë Pounder · June 2021
Extreme Imagination Update
Does aphantasia imply an absence of imagination? Dr. Adam Zeman answers three common questions in discussions of extreme imagination.
May 2021
Shocking Insights: What Electrical Stimulation Tells Us About How We Visualize
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.
Mike Perrotta · February 2021
Seeing With the Mind's Eye
Not everyone sees their past or future in the same way. These invisible differences may apply to almost every aspect of thinking.
Peter Moleman · November 2020
History of Aphantasia
Aphantasia, the inability to voluntarily form mental images, was first described by Francis Galton in 1880 but largely remained unstudied until 2015, when Professor Adam Zeman of the University of Exeter coined the term and began his research, bringing renewed scientific and public attention to this fascinating aspect of human cognition. The concept traces back to Aristotle's "phantasia" from 340 BC, establishing a rich historical foundation for understanding individual differences in mental imagery.
Tom Ebeyer · March 2020
