Motor imagery abilities in individuals who experience aphantasia

DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109530

Wright, D. J., Scott, M. W., Esselaar, M., Braithwaite, E. C., & Holmes, P. S. (2026). Motor imagery abilities in individuals who experience aphantasia. Neuropsychologia, 230, 109530. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109530

Abstract

Motor imagery is the visual and kinaesthetic mental representation of human movement, and it can be effective in improving motor performance and (re)learning in clinical and sporting contexts. However, individuals who experience aphantasia and self-report absent visual imagery abilities, would, presumably, be unable to engage with motor imagery and gain no benefits from imagery-based interventions. The aim of this study was to explore any self-reported motor imagery-related abilities in participants who experience aphantasia. One-hundred and ninety-four participants who self-reported experiencing a total absence of voluntary visual imagery completed motor simulation ability questionnaires to assess their visual motor imagery, kinaesthetic motor imagery, and combined action observation and motor imagery (AOMI) abilities. The findings indicate that aphantasic participants are unable to engage with visual motor imagery. However, participants reported significantly greater kinaesthetic imagery and AOMI abilities, with medium-to-large effect sizes, when compared to visual motor imagery ability. Although generating kinaesthetic imagery and AOMI was still difficult, the findings suggest that these motor simulation abilities may be somewhat less compromised compared to the complete absence of visual imagery for participants who experience aphantasia. The results also offer novel evidence that immediate prior action execution may have the potential to prime the generation of kinaesthetic imagery in those who experience aphantasia.

Authors

David J. Wright1
Matthew W. Scott1
Maaike Esselaar3
Elizabeth C. Braithwaite1
Paul S. Holmes1

What This Study Is About

Researchers wanted to know if people with aphantasia—the inability to picture things in their mind—can still imagine the physical *feeling* of moving their bodies, even if they can't *see* the action happening in their heads.

How They Studied It

The researchers studied 194 people with aphantasia. Participants completed online tasks where they tried to imagine different movements, like jumping or lifting a knee. Sometimes they just tried to imagine the movement, other times they physically did the movement first to "warm up" their brain's memory, and sometimes they watched a video of the action while trying to imagine the feeling of doing it.

What They Found

As expected, participants found it nearly impossible to "see" themselves moving in their mind's eye. However, they *could* still imagine the physical sensation of the movement—like the feeling of muscles tightening. This is called kinaesthetic imagery (imagining physical feelings). While it was still challenging, participants rated imagining the *feeling* of a movement as significantly easier than trying to *visualize* it. Even better, physically doing the movement first or watching a video guide made imagining the physical feeling much easier.

What This Might Mean

This suggests that "seeing" a movement and "feeling" a movement in your mind are handled by different pathways in the brain. For athletes or physical therapy patients with aphantasia, this means mental practice is still highly useful—they just need to focus on the physical sensations rather than visual pictures. However, since this study relied on online questionnaires rather than direct brain scans, we must be cautious before claiming we know exactly how the brain is processing these feelings.

One Interesting Detail

Usually, our ability to imagine physical sensations declines as we get older. But the researchers discovered that when participants watched a video guide while imagining the movement, this age-related decline completely disappeared!

Motor imagery abilities in individuals who experience aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

Motor imagery abilities in individuals who experience aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

Motor imagery abilities in individuals who experience aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

What This Study Is About

How They Studied It

What They Found

What This Might Mean

One Interesting Detail

Motor imagery abilities in individuals who experience 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

Carla Dance

Paolo Bartolomeo

Jianghao Liu

Fraser Milton

Joel Pearson

Merlin Monzel

Adam Zeman

Rebecca Keogh

Martin Reuter

Juha Silvanto

Carla Dance

Paolo Bartolomeo

Jianghao Liu

Fraser Milton