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Aphantasia Logo
Back to all discussions
Community

Join the conversation and share your experiences with the community.

Start a Discussion
Discussion Guidelines

Please remember to:

  • • Be respectful and constructive
  • • Share your personal experiences
  • • Ask questions if you're curious
  • • Help others feel welcome
You're not alone

Talk to counselors, coaches, and educators who already understand aphantasia — so you don't have to start by explaining what it is.

Find aphantasia-aware support
Aphantasia Logo

Building awareness and understanding of aphantasia through research, education, and community support.

About

  • What is Aphantasia?
  • What is Hyperphantasia?
  • Take Assessment
  • Getting Started
  • Newsletter
  • About Us
  • Contact

Community

  • Premium Membership
  • Find support
  • Discussions
  • Events
  • Visualize

For Professionals

  • Overview
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  • Counselor Training
  • Educator Training
  • List Your Practice
  • Pricing & Bundles

Resources

  • Articles & Stories
  • Videos & Interviews
  • Aphantasia Course
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Research

  • Research Library
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© 2026 Aphantasia Network. All rights reserved.

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Aphantasia and intelligence

June 10, 20211 min readByTim Gatty
StoriesLearning
Has there been any research done on Aphantasia and intelligence? I have dxes of ASD & schizophrenia . My verbal ability outstrips my non-verbal ability by a significant amount.
A test at Cognifit revealed the following weaknesses- planning,visual short term memory,non-verbal memory & spatial perception.

Aphantasia and intelligence

June 10, 20211 min readByTim Gatty
StoriesLearning
Has there been any research done on Aphantasia and intelligence? I have dxes of ASD & schizophrenia . My verbal ability outstrips my non-verbal ability by a significant amount.
A test at Cognifit revealed the following weaknesses- planning,visual short term memory,non-verbal memory & spatial perception.
Aphantasia Logo
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Tim Gatty•recently•edited
Further to the intelligence  factor: I've noticed that a good  number of aphants are good at mental rotation. I'm not. I'm comparatively better at pattern recognition than mental rotation.
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Shannon B•recently•edited
Not that I'm aware of, and I've been doing quite a bit of research on the topic lately (writing a literature review). However, I have heard that ASD is linked to higher-than-average intelligence. I'm interested in the coexistence of your aphantasia and schizophrenia, since one involves a lack of imagery and the other an excess. If it isn't too personal, may I ask if you experience visual hallucinations? Or do you only experience hallucinations in sensory modalities that aren't affected by your aphantasia?
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Tim Gatty•recently•edited
The only visual hallucination was seeing my wife just after she'd died. I've been told that's a fairly common experience. I've experienced the very occasional olfactory hallucination,but ask me to voluntarily imagine the smell of something and I can't do it.  As a whole I don't experience hallucinations very much. The most frequent are functional hallucinations.What sound like voices as the washing machine is running. Hearing what sound like voices when the toilet is flushed. For many it happens with the sound of a fan.  
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