ResearchProceedings of the SIGGRAPH Asia 2025 Posters
MindEye: A VR Imagery Training System for Individuals with Acquired Visual Imagery Impairments and Mild Aphantasia
Wang and colleaguesDecember 2025
Abstract
Visual imagery deficits, including aphantasia and acquired imagery impairments, significantly impact cognitive functioning yet lack effective interventions. We present MindEye, a VR-based training system combining guided imagery reconstruction with spatial-semantic association techniques to rebuild visual imagery pathways. The system features two modules that provide structured verbal cues and progressive visual scaffolding, and that preserve spatial cognition to strengthen imagery-memory connections. Our study with 6 participants demonstrated significant improvements across all measures: imagery clarity increased from 2.3 to 3.7, scene reconstruction from 52% to 76%, and spatial recall from 58% to 85%, with participants having initially low imaging ability showing the largest gains. These results suggest that combining guided imagery training with spatial-semantic association offers a promising therapeutic approach for individuals with imagery deficits.
Our summary in plain words
What This Study Is About
How They Studied It
- Guided Imagery: Participants observed a VR scene while listening to descriptions, then tried to mentally reconstruct the scene as the visual details were slowly removed.
- Spatial-Object Path: Participants placed objects in a virtual room, then had to recall exactly where those objects were after they were hidden.
What They Found
What This Might Mean
One Interesting Detail
This summary was written with AI and may contain errors. Check the original paper.
Authors
Tian Wang
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the libraryChenyang He
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
2 papers in the libraryRuici Song
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the libraryJinghan Zhang
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the libraryYijing Xu
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the libraryPei Zhang
Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the libraryMengyao Guo
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the libraryGuanyou Li
Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the libraryZhiwei Deng
Configreality Technology Co.Ltd., Shenzhen, China
1 paper in the library
Cite this paper
Wang, T., He, C., Song, R., Zhang, J., Xu, Y., Zhang, P., Guo, M., Li, G., & Deng, Z. (2025). Mindeye: a vr imagery training system for individuals with acquired visual imagery impairments and mild aphantasia. Proceedings of the SIGGRAPH Asia 2025 Posters, 1–3. doi:10.1145/3757374.3771463
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