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Abstract

The inability to visualise was given the name aphantasia in 2015 by Zeman and colleagues. In 2018 we published research showing that fifteen individuals who self-identified as having aphantasia also demonstrated a lack of sensory visual imagery when undergoing the binocular rivalry imagery paradigm, suggesting more than just a metacognitive difference. Here we update these findings with over fifty participants with aphantasia and show that there is evidence for a lack of sensory imagery in aphantasia. How the binocular rivalry paradigm scores relate to the vividness of visual imagery questionnaire (VVIQ) and how aphantasia can be confirmed is discussed.

What This Study Is About

Researchers wanted to see if people with aphantasia—the inability to create mental images—show any hidden signs of "sensory" imagery in their brains that they might not be consciously aware of. This study follows up on earlier work to confirm whether aphantasia is truly a lack of visual imagery or just a difference in how people describe their internal experiences.

How They Studied It

The study included 55 people with aphantasia and a comparison group of 209 people with typical imagery. Participants used a "binocular rivalry" test: they were asked to imagine a specific pattern (like green vertical lines) for six seconds, then were shown two different patterns simultaneously—one to each eye. In typical visualizers, the imagined pattern usually "primes" the brain, making them more likely to see that specific pattern when the real images appear.

What They Found

The researchers found that, as a group, people with aphantasia showed no priming effect. While the general population saw their imagined image about 59% of the time, the aphantasic group’s results were around 52%, which is essentially random chance. This suggests that their brains are not forming the same sensory "trace" of an image that typical visualizers do.

What This Might Mean

These results suggest that aphantasia is not just a matter of people being unable to "see" an image that their brain has actually created; rather, the sensory building blocks of the image may not be forming at all. However, the study noted that about 12% of aphantasic participants did show some priming, suggesting there may be small variations within the aphantasic community that require more research.

One Interesting Detail

The researchers looked at whether people who reported "dim and vague" imagery performed differently than those who reported "no image at all," but they found no significant difference in their brain's priming scores—both groups lacked the typical sensory imagery response.

Revisiting the blind mind: Still no evidence for sensory visual imagery in individuals with aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

Revisiting the blind mind: Still no evidence for sensory visual imagery in individuals with aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

Revisiting the blind mind: Still no evidence for sensory visual imagery in individuals with aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

What This Study Is About

How They Studied It

What They Found

What This Might Mean

One Interesting Detail

Revisiting the blind mind: Still no evidence for sensory visual imagery in individuals with aphantasia

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

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

Joel Pearson

Merlin Monzel

Adam Zeman

Rebecca Keogh

Martin Reuter

Juha Silvanto

Paolo Bartolomeo

Carla Dance

Jianghao Liu

Fraser Milton