How Interoception and the Insula Shape Mental Imagery and Aphantasia
Silvanto and NagaiMarch 2025
Abstract
A major question in cognitive neuroscience is understanding the neural basis of mental imagery, particularly in cases of its absence, known as aphantasia.
Our summary in plain words
What This Study Is About
This research explores whether aphantasia—the inability to visualize images in the mind—is more than just a "blind" inner eye. The authors propose that mental imagery is actually a combination of sensory information and "interoception," which is the brain's ability to sense and understand internal signals from the body, like a heartbeat or breathing.
How They Studied It
This paper is a theoretical review, meaning the researchers analyzed a wide range of existing studies rather than testing new participants. They looked at brain imaging data, psychological tests, and clinical reports involving people with aphantasia, as well as related conditions like alexithymia (difficulty identifying emotions) and dyspraxia (challenges with physical coordination). They specifically focused on how two brain regions—the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex—connect bodily sensations with mental thoughts.
What They Found
The researchers found that mental imagery is not just a picture; it is an "embodied" experience that uses signals from the body to feel real and personal. They discovered that aphantasia is frequently linked to differences in how the brain processes these internal body signals. For example, people with aphantasia often have higher rates of dyspraxia or alexithymia, both of which involve the brain struggling to integrate sensory information with bodily awareness. This suggests that aphantasia might be caused by the brain's inability to "anchor" mental images to physical sensations.
What This Might Mean
This suggests that aphantasia may reflect a broader difference in how the brain handles internal information, rather than just a specific "glitch" in the visual system. If mental imagery requires a connection between the mind and the body's signals, then aphantasia might be a result of these two systems not communicating effectively. While this theory helps explain why some people with aphantasia also struggle with autobiographical memory or emotion recognition, more direct experiments are needed to prove that the body's internal signals are the "missing link" for those who cannot visualize.
One Interesting Detail
The study points out that while people with aphantasia cannot voluntarily create mental images while awake, many still experience vivid dreams. The researchers suggest this is because dreaming is an automatic process, whereas voluntary imagery requires a "sense of agency"—the feeling that you are the one in control—which relies heavily on the brain's connection to the body.
This summary was written with AI and may contain errors. Check the original paper.
Authors
Juha Silvanto
16 papers in the libraryYoko Nagai
6 papers in the library
Cite this paper
Silvanto, J., & Nagai, Y. (2025). How interoception and the insula shape mental imagery and aphantasia. Brain Topography, 38(2). doi:10.1007/s10548-025-01101-6
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