Aphantasia Network

Most hypnotherapy quietly assumes a mind's eye. Dr Paulina Trevena — a hypnotherapist who discovered her own aphantasia mid-session — has spent years proving that assumption wrong, and rebuilding the practice for minds that don't picture anything at all.

Most of us assume that to be a musician, you have to hear music in your head. New qualitative research from David Tolman challenges that — and reveals that the strategies musicians use with auditory aphantasia aren't broken workarounds, but a genuine way of reasoning musically.

A new paper in the Journal of Mad Studies argues that aphantasia research has a blind spot: it quietly treats visual imagery as the norm and aphantasia as the defect—shaping the questions scientists ask before anyone notices the assumption is there.

New research from the University of Lyon suggests that people with aphantasia may actually reason faster on certain logic problems—a finding that challenges the long-held assumption that mental imagery helps us think.

When viewers encounter  Stephen Malinowski's Music Animation Machine —vibrant, cascading visual scores that dance in perfect synchronization with classical music—many assume the creator must have an exceptionally vivid visual imagination.  The reality is precisely the opposite: Malinowski has aphantasia.

A viral post called people who can't visualize 'furniture.' I was one of the first 21 people ever documented with aphantasia. Here's what that post gets wrong.

New research from Wilma Bainbridge and her team at the University of Chicago reveals that people with aphantasia still remember pictures better than words—a finding that upends one of psychology's most influential theories about how memory works.

Art historian Matthew MacKisack's research reveals that aphantasic artists create stunning work through external composition—challenging centuries of assumptions about creativity and imagination.

For years, researchers asked how vivid people's mental images are in general. William Duckett asked a different question—and discovered something that's reshaping how we understand imagery and memory.

For decades, neuroscientists assumed they understood mental imagery. Then people with aphantasia proved them wrong—and changed the future of consciousness research.

What if the key to understanding mental imagery differences isn't in your brain's visual centers? New research reveals why your ability to visualize may depend on something unexpected: how well you sense your own body.

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.

What if everything you thought you knew about creativity was wrong? The scientist who discovered aphantasia unveils the "new science of imagination" and explains why visualization might not be essential to human creativity.

One key barrier to effective anxiety treatment for people with aphantasia isn't the therapy itself—it's the words therapists use. New study reveals that imaginal exposure therapy can be effective for people with aphantasia when therapists adjust their approach.

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?

Researchers expand aphantasia definition beyond "inability to visualize." This broader framework impacts how we understand and identify with the condition.

The biggest obstacle to getting proper mental health care for people with aphantasia isn't the condition itself—it's how therapists communicate about treatment. New research reveals significant barriers in mental health diagnosis and treatment for people with aphantasia, but also shows exactly how to fix them.

How a neurologist's decades-long investigation into patients who couldn't "see" half their memories led to groundbreaking discoveries about aphantasia, brain connectivity, and the hidden mechanisms of human imagination.

Understanding how our brain performs motor simulations is crucial for enhancing motor skills, whether it be in sports performance, motor rehabilitation, or simple everyday movements. But what happens when a person cannot simulate these movements?

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.

How a researcher's brain imaging study of people who can't form mental images led to surprising discoveries about memory accuracy, neural noise, and the multiple pathways our minds use to access the past.

In July 1963, Alice Grebanier's observation of a total solar eclipse marked a pivotal moment in her life. This event, merging scientific discovery with profound reflections on memory and emotion, showcases how moments of discovery can eclipse the limitations of memory recall in aphantasia.

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.

A neuroscientist's research reveals that people with hyperphantasia may actually experience fundamentally different types of "extreme" mental imagery - challenging our understanding of vivid visualization.

This apple illusion allows people who can't visualize to temporarily 'see' an image that isn't there—using visual perception to demonstrate what others experience through their imagination.

How a brain researcher's journey from engineering to neuroscience uncovered the hidden networks that allow people with aphantasia to navigate a visual world without mental imagery—and what this reveals about the nature of consciousness itself.

Best-selling author discovers aphantasia. Discover the buzz behind John Green aphantasia discovery and its significance in the community.

The Ball on a Table experiment is a simple visualization test that reveals whether you think in pictures (visualizer) or concepts (conceptualizer). This revealing experiment, originally credited to u/Caaaarrrl, takes less than a minute but provides profound insights into how your mind processes information.

What happens when a neuroscientist studying visual hallucinations discovers he can't visualize at all? Mac Shine's personal revelation led to groundbreaking insights about how our brains create—and fail to create—mental imagery.

How a philosopher's investigation into a simple paradox—people who can't visualize yet excel at "visual" tasks—led him to challenge centuries of assumptions about imagination, mental images, and the nature of thought itself.

Discover the hidden differences that shape human behavior (aphantasia, synesthesia, inner speech) with professor Gary Lupyan, as he joins the Aphantasia Network to shed light on the fascinating world beyond what meets the eye.

Have you ever wondered why mental images aren't as vivid as real images? What's the difference between imagining something and hallucinating it? Alexander Sulfaro joins Aphantasia Network to discuss this and more.

How emails from struggling aphantasics prompted a University of Bonn psychologist to apply the rigorous criteria of mental health diagnosis — and what he found changed the conversation.

The city of Rowlett, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, declares the world’s first Aphantasia Awareness Day on February 21, 2023.

One of the most striking findings from Dr. Levine's research is the significant overlap between aphantasia and SDAM. This connection makes intuitive sense, as normal autobiographical memory is heavily visual for most people.

How a student's curiosity about her own family sparked a decade-long investigation into imagery vividness — and uncovered a near-perfect developmental curve that nobody had seen before.

Eyes are the window to the soul... and Aphantasia? New study finds pupils can detect mental imagery strength. Joel Pearson joins the Aphantasia Network to present on this fascinating new discovery.

What do typical visualizers experience? How do hyperphantasics experience visual imagery? Melanie Scheer presents a new way to depict the visual imagination spectrum.

Wilma Bainbridge shares insight into how we can use drawings to uncover what's inside the memory of people with aphantasia in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.

Brian Levine explores the relationship between autobiographical memory and visual imagery in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.

Julia Simner addresses a common misconception that aphantasics must be verbal thinkers in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.

How can aphantasia be measured? Joel Pearson talks about measuring aphantasia objectively and reliably in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.

Adam Zeman shares the rediscovery of aphantasia, a blind mind's eye, in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference and Exhibition.

YouTuber, Anthony Padilla spends a day with aphantasics. Featuring Founder of the Aphantasia Network, Tom Ebeyer and artists AmyRightMeow and Katherine Yaochen Du.

The accidental discovery that became the foundation for objective measurement techniques in mental imagery and aphantasia research.

The complete story of how aphantasia was discovered and what it means for millions of people worldwide.

Alan Kendle was a true citizen scientist of aphantasia. He will be missed by many members of the aphantasia community to which he contributed much and by which he felt supported and sustained.

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.

CBC Radio publishes a multimedia docuseries on the discovery of aphantasia and Tom Ebeyer's story building the foundations for a global Aphantasia Network.

There's no right or wrong way to learn – just different approaches that work for different minds.

Discover how people with aphantasia excel at mental rotation despite having no visual imagery. Complete these mental rotation tasks and explore the fascinating cognitive differences.

Discover if you have aphantasia using a simple binocular rivalry test you can do at home. Learn about objective measurement techniques and what your results could mean.

When it comes to visualizing things in the mind's eye, our experience varies widely. Francis Galton's groundbreaking Breakfast Study revealed this phenomenon over 140 years ago, fundamentally changing how we understand visual imagery and its assessment.