The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in aphantasia

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Monzel, M., Nagai, Y., & Silvanto, J. (2025). The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in aphantasia. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-025-23270-x

Abstract

Autobiographical memory deficits are well-documented in aphantasia, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Emerging models suggest that interoception plays a crucial role in mental imagery, a key component of memory retrieval. In this study, we investigate the relationship between self-reported interoception, mental imagery, and autobiographical memory, with a specific focus on aphantasia. First, we examined whether interoceptive awareness and autobiographical memory differ between individuals with core aphantasia ( n = 69), hypophantasia ( n = 266) and typical imagers ( n = 133). Our findings reveal that aphantasics report significantly lower autobiographical memory as well as subjective interoceptive awareness across key subscales, including emotional awareness and noticing. Secondly, a mediation analysis reveals that mental imagery mediates the relationship between the emotional awareness subscale of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) questionnaire and autobiographical memory, suggesting that subjective interoception may contribute to memory recall indirectly through its influence on imagery. These findings provide novel empirical support for the idea that interoception is linked to both mental imagery and memory retrieval. The reduced interoceptive awareness observed in aphantasia may contribute to their known deficits in autobiographical memory, positioning aphantasia as a condition that extends beyond a lack of mental imagery to include altered interoceptive processing.

Authors

Merlin Monzel30
Yoko Nagai5
Juha Silvanto14

What This Study Is About

Researchers investigated why people with aphantasia—the inability to create mental images—often have more difficulty remembering personal life events compared to those with typical imagery. They specifically looked at "interoception," which is the brain's ability to sense and understand internal bodily signals like heartbeat, breathing, or emotional tension.

How They Studied It

The study included 468 participants who were divided into three groups: those with aphantasia (no mental imagery), hypophantasia (very weak imagery), and typical imagers. Participants completed several detailed questionnaires that measured their ability to notice bodily sensations, the vividness of their mental imagery across different senses, and how well they could remember specific details from their past.

What They Found

The researchers discovered that people with aphantasia reported significantly lower awareness of their internal bodily signals compared to typical imagers. Specifically, they were less likely to notice how their body reacts to emotions. The study found a clear chain of connection: lower bodily awareness was linked to weaker mental imagery, which in turn was linked to having less detailed and less confident memories of personal life events.

What This Might Mean

This suggests that aphantasia is more than just a "blind mind's eye"; it may involve a broader difference in how the brain processes internal information. If mental imagery acts as a bridge between our bodily feelings and our memories, a lack of imagery might make it harder to "re-experience" the physical and emotional feelings of a past event. However, because this study relied on self-reported surveys, more research is needed to see if these differences show up in physical tests of bodily awareness.

One Interesting Detail

The study found that "emotional awareness"—the ability to notice how your body feels when you are happy, sad, or stressed—was the specific type of bodily awareness most strongly tied to the richness of a person's life memories.

The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in aphantasia

Abstract

Authors

The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in 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

Joel Pearson

Merlin Monzel

Adam Zeman

Rebecca Keogh

Martin Reuter

Juha Silvanto

Paolo Bartolomeo

Carla Dance

Jianghao Liu

Fraser Milton