What is the relationship between Aphantasia, Synaesthesia and Autism?
Dance, C., Jaquiery, M., Eagleman, D., Porteous, D., Zeman, A., & Simner, J. (2021). What is the relationship between aphantasia, synaesthesia and autism?. Consciousness and Cognition, 89, 103087. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2021.103087
Abstract
In this research, the relationship between aphantasia, synaesthesia, and autism was studied. Aphantasia is a condition where individuals have no or limited visual imagery abilities. In two experiments, the researchers investigated the connection between aphantasia and synaesthesia, which is linked to strong visual imagery, and autism, which is linked to weak imagery. In the first experiment, the researchers found that synaesthesia can be diagnosed in individuals with aphantasia, but that their aphantasia influences the type of synaesthesia they experience. In the second experiment, the researchers found that individuals with aphantasia reported higher levels of autistic traits, including weak imagination and social skills. The results suggest that there may be a connection between aphantasia, synaesthesia, and autism and highlight the importance of further research into these conditions.
Authors
- Carla Dance8
- M. Jaquiery1
- D.M. Eagleman1
- D. Porteous1
- Adam Zeman15
- Julia Simner8
Research Summary: Three Neurodevelopmental Conditions and the Mind's Eye
Imagine being able to close your eyes and picture your friend's face, a sunset, or your childhood home in vivid detail. For most people, this mental visualization happens automatically. But for some individuals with a condition called aphantasia, this ability simply doesn't exist—their mind's eye is blank. This raises a fascinating puzzle: if visual imagery is so fundamental to how our brains work, what does it mean for people who live without it? And more intriguingly, how does the absence of mental images relate to other ways that brains differ, like autism or synaesthesia (a condition where senses cross-wire, like seeing colors when reading numbers)?
Researchers at universities across the UK and Stanford set out to answer these questions by conducting three interconnected experiments. Their work, published in *Consciousness and Cognition*, challenges some long-held assumptions about how visual imagination, sensory experiences, and neurodevelopmental differences are connected.
The team started with a surprising question: can someone with aphantasia experience synaesthesia? This matters because synaesthesia is typically associated with *strong* visual imagery—people with grapheme-colour synaesthesia, for example, automatically perceive letters and numbers as having specific colors. Conventional wisdom suggested these two conditions couldn't coexist. But the researchers discovered something unexpected: aphantasics can absolutely have synaesthesia. The key finding wasn't that it's impossible—it's that the experience changes. While people with typical imagery might "see" synaesthetic colors projected onto the page in front of them, aphantasics with synaesthesia tend to experience colors as internal associations rather than external projections. They know a number is red, but they don't visualize it appearing on the paper. This finding demolishes the assumption that vivid mental imagery is necessary for synaesthesia to occur.
The second major discovery focused on the relationship between aphantasia and autism. Both conditions are linked to differences in how people imagine and process information, but they'd never been studied together before. Researchers gave participants the Autism Quotient test—a 50-question assessment that measures traits like communication skills, social abilities, and imagination. The results showed that people with aphantasia scored significantly higher on autistic traits than control participants, particularly in areas measuring imagination and social skills. This doesn't mean that aphantasics have autism or vice versa, but it suggests these conditions share some underlying features. The researchers propose that lacking visual imagery might partially explain why imagination is sometimes challenged in autism—if your brain doesn't naturally create mental images, certain types of imaginative thinking become harder.
What makes this research particularly valuable is that it moves beyond simply cataloging rare brain differences. Instead, it asks deeper questions about how different cognitive systems interact. Visual imagery isn't just a single mental trick—it appears to be woven throughout imagination, creativity, and social understanding. When it's absent, or when sensory pathways are rewired, it creates ripples across multiple abilities.
The practical implications are significant for understanding neurodiversity. People with aphantasia have historically been confused or misdiagnosed because their experience seems impossible to others. Similarly, understanding that aphantasia and autism might share some characteristics could help clinicians recognize and support individuals more effectively. For synaesthetes with aphantasia, learning that their experience is genuine and diagnosable—even if phenomenologically different—provides validation that researchers are finally taking seriously.
This research also highlights how much neuroscience still has to learn. Most studies of imagination, creativity, and sensory experience implicitly assume that mental imagery is universal and necessary. But the existence of aphantasia reveals that the human brain is far more variable than these assumptions allow. By studying people whose minds work differently, we get a clearer picture of how the typical brain actually functions—and we challenge ourselves to build more inclusive models of what it means to be human.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain errors. Always refer to the original paper for accuracy.