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
  • Free Introduction
  • Counselor Training
  • Educator Training
  • List Your Practice
  • Pricing & Bundles

Resources

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

Research

  • Research Library
  • Participate in Studies
  • Recruitment Services

© 2026 Aphantasia Network. All rights reserved.

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
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
  • Free Introduction
  • Counselor Training
  • Educator Training
  • List Your Practice
  • Pricing & Bundles

Resources

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

Research

  • Research Library
  • Participate in Studies
  • Recruitment Services

© 2026 Aphantasia Network. All rights reserved.

  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

The genetic basis of aphantasia

June 15, 20211 min readByIan Miller
Measurement & AssessmentTheory & Definitions
It strikes me that the amazing/wonderful variety of cognitive processes that we seem to experience are of enormous value. If a group of early humans had that sort of variety of cognition its prospects for survival would have been greatly enhanced: whatever the challenge, some of them would have the solution. I'll go so far as to speculate that the emergence of the aphantasic-to-hyperphantasic spectrum may be why homo sapiens is still around, and homo neanerthalensis isn't.
It would be interesting to see some research into genetic markers for variants in the spectrum, and to look for those markers in other species.

The genetic basis of aphantasia

June 15, 20211 min readByIan Miller
Measurement & AssessmentTheory & Definitions
It strikes me that the amazing/wonderful variety of cognitive processes that we seem to experience are of enormous value. If a group of early humans had that sort of variety of cognition its prospects for survival would have been greatly enhanced: whatever the challenge, some of them would have the solution. I'll go so far as to speculate that the emergence of the aphantasic-to-hyperphantasic spectrum may be why homo sapiens is still around, and homo neanerthalensis isn't.
It would be interesting to see some research into genetic markers for variants in the spectrum, and to look for those markers in other species.
Aphantasia Logo
M
Matthew McClinton•recently•edited
My Father,  Two Brothers,  Both sons, and 3 nephews have Aphantasia.   I can confirm it is genetic.  
0
T
Tom Ebeyer•recently•edited
Have you ever read this theory about language evolution, it's a wonderful read and speaks to the potential impact slight variations in cognitive processes could have. I do tend to think these variations in imagery abilities are evolutionarily fit divergences, there are obvious collective advantages in diversity. And there is definitely scientific interest into this question of genetics, it's only a matter of time before we have some more conclusive answers. But as Shannon mentioned, the current data does suggest the possibility of a genetic component - aphantasics in that study were shown to be 10x as likely to have a 1st degree relative with aphantasia.
0
S
Shannon B•recently•edited
As recently as 2020, the only thing known about a genetic basis for aphantasia is that it runs in families more often than would be expected by chance (Zeman et al., 2020). So there probably are genetic markers, they're just totally unknown so far. Let's hope someone researches it soon!
0