Influences of mental imagery at different stages of Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s modal model: Visual imagery is associated with enhanced iconic memory performance

DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2026.04.011

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Monzel, M., Yang, C., Plancher, G., Milton, F., & Reuter, M. (2026). Influences of mental imagery at different stages of atkinson’s and shiffrin’s modal model: visual imagery is associated with enhanced iconic memory performance. Cortex. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.04.011

Abstract

Mental imagery varies widely across individuals, ranging from aphantasia (absent or near-absent imagery) to hyperphantasia (extremely vivid imagery), yet its influence on early memory processes remains unclear. This study examined how imagery vividness affects distinct stages of Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s modal model, focusing on iconic and working memory. Ninety-two participants (46 aphantasics, 46 non-aphantasics) completed a modified Sperling partial-report task with brief (50 ms; iconic memory) and extended (5000 ms; working memory) encoding durations, each with and without a delay of the recall cue. Non-aphantasics outperformed aphantasics in iconic, but not in working memory. Performance in the iconic memory task declined numerically more strongly after the delay among non-aphantasics than among aphantasics, suggesting greater visual decay in those who were initially able to rely on visual strategies. Importantly, aphantasics’ performance declined more steeply across the rows of the iconic memory task’s letter array than that of non-aphantasics, suggesting greater reliance on sequential strategies such as verbal encoding. Additional strategy analyses revealed that visual strategies enhanced iconic memory only in non-aphantasics, whereas verbal strategies improved working memory in both groups. Overall, our findings suggest that vivid mental imagery enhances early sensory processing and that non-visual strategies can only be applied at later processing stages. Thus, iconic memory appears to be partly dependent on top-down modulation by visual imagery.

Authors

Merlin Monzel30
Charlie Yang1
Gaën Plancher6
Fraser Milton9
Martin Reuter16

What This Study Is About

Researchers investigated whether aphantasia—the inability to create mental images—affects different types of short-term memory. Specifically, they looked at "iconic memory" (a very brief snapshot of what you just saw) versus "working memory" (holding and using information over several seconds).

How They Studied It

The study included 92 participants, divided into those with aphantasia and those with typical mental imagery. Participants were shown a grid of letters very briefly. They were then asked to recall specific letters either immediately (testing iconic memory) or after a short delay (testing working memory). The researchers also asked participants what strategies they used to remember the letters, such as trying to "take a snapshot" with their mind or repeating the letters silently.

What They Found

The study found that people with aphantasia performed significantly worse on iconic memory tasks compared to those who can visualize. However, when it came to working memory—where there was a longer delay—there was no significant difference between the two groups. While people with typical imagery used their "inner eye" to boost their performance in the first split-second, people with aphantasia were able to catch up during the longer delay by using non-visual strategies, like repeating the names of the letters to themselves.

What This Might Mean

This suggests that mental imagery—the ability to picture things in your mind—is a tool that helps "amplify" and hold onto visual information the moment it hits our eyes. Without this tool, people with aphantasia may have a weaker "sensory register" for brief visual snapshots. However, the lack of difference in working memory suggests that the brain is highly adaptable, using verbal or logical strategies to achieve the same results when given just a few extra seconds to process information.

One Interesting Detail

Even though they couldn't actually see the images, some participants with aphantasia still tried to use visual strategies (like "taking a mental photo"), but these attempts didn't actually help their performance, whereas the same strategies significantly helped those who could visualize.

Influences of mental imagery at different stages of Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s modal model: Visual imagery is associated with enhanced iconic memory performance

Abstract

Authors

Influences of mental imagery at different stages of Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s modal model: Visual imagery is associated with enhanced iconic memory performance

Abstract

Authors

Influences of mental imagery at different stages of Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s modal model: Visual imagery is associated with enhanced iconic memory performance

Abstract

Authors

Influences of mental imagery at different stages of Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s modal model: Visual imagery is associated with enhanced iconic memory performance

Abstract

Authors

What This Study Is About

How They Studied It

What They Found

What This Might Mean

One Interesting Detail

What This Study Is About

How They Studied It

What They Found

What This Might Mean

One Interesting Detail

Joel Pearson

Merlin Monzel

Adam Zeman

Rebecca Keogh

Martin Reuter

Juha Silvanto

Paolo Bartolomeo

Carla Dance

Jianghao Liu

Fraser Milton