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Vividness of mental imagery: Individual variability can be measured objectively

DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2006.11.013
Cui, X., Jeter, C. B., Yang, D., Montague, P. R., & Eagleman, D. M. (2007). Vividness of mental imagery: individual variability can be measured objectively. Vision Research, 47(4), 474–478. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2006.11.013

Abstract

When asked to imagine a visual scene, such as an ant crawling on a checkered table cloth toward a jar of jelly, individuals subjectively report different vividness in their mental visualization. We show that reported vividness can be correlated with two objective measures: the early visual cortex activity relative to the whole brain activity measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the performance on a novel psychophysical task. These results show that individual differences in the vividness of mental imagery are quantifiable even in the absence of subjective report.

Authors

  • Xu Cui1
  • Cameron B. Jeter1
  • Dongni Yang1
  • P. Read Montague1
  • David M. Eagleman1