AphantasiaResearch
Explore a comprehensive collection of academic papers, research studies, and scientific publications about aphantasia, imagery, and cognitive neuroscience.
The potential risks of opening the mind’s eye with psychedelic therapies
People with aphantasia may gain visual mental imagery after using psychedelics like psilocybin, raising concerns about mental health risks. The authors advocate for informed consent and awareness of these unexpected side effects in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Koenig-Robert, R., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2025). The potential risks of opening the mind’s eye with psychedelic therapies. Cortex, 191, 167–171. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2025.08.002
Slower but more accurate mental rotation performance in aphantasia linked to differences in cognitive strategies
People with aphantasia perform mental rotation tasks effectively using alternative strategies despite lacking visual imagery. This suggests visual imagery is not necessary for spatial cognition, challenging assumptions about mental rotation.
Kay, L., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2024). Slower but more accurate mental rotation performance in aphantasia linked to differences in cognitive strategies. Consciousness and Cognition, 121, 103694. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2024.103694
Revisiting the blind mind: Still no evidence for sensory visual imagery in individuals with aphantasia
Individuals with aphantasia lack sensory visual imagery, as demonstrated using the binocular rivalry paradigm with 55 participants. This replicates prior findings, providing objective evidence that aphantasia involves more than just a metacognitive difference.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2024). Revisiting the blind mind: still no evidence for sensory visual imagery in individuals with aphantasia. Neuroscience Research, 201, 27–30. doi:10.1016/j.neures.2024.01.008
Multisensory subtypes of aphantasia: Mental imagery as supramodal perception in reverse
Research identifies distinct aphantasia subtypes with varying multisensory imagery deficits rather than uniform visual impairment. Approximately 26% experience total imagery absence across all senses while others retain partial multisensory capacity.
Dawes, A. J., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2024). Multisensory subtypes of aphantasia: mental imagery as supramodal perception in reverse. Neuroscience Research, 201, 50–59. doi:10.1016/j.neures.2023.11.009
Fewer intrusive memories in aphantasia: using the trauma film paradigm as a laboratory model of PTSD
Aphantasic individuals (without visual imagery) experienced fewer intrusive memories after trauma exposure compared to controls, though their intrusions were verbal rather than visual. This suggests visual imagery drives PTSD symptom development and flashbacks.
Keogh, R., Wicken, M., & Pearson, J. (n.d.). Fewer intrusive memories in aphantasia: using the trauma film paradigm as a laboratory model of ptsd. doi:10.31234/osf.io/7zqfe
Memories with a blind mind: Remembering the past and imagining the future with aphantasia
People with aphantasia have reduced episodic memory and future imagination abilities compared to those with visual imagery. Visual imagery acts as an important cognitive tool for retrieving and combining past memories and imagining future events.
Dawes, A. J., Keogh, R., Robuck, S., & Pearson, J. (2022). Memories with a blind mind: remembering the past and imagining the future with aphantasia. Cognition, 227, 105192. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105192
The pupillary light response as a physiological index of aphantasia, sensory and phenomenological imagery strength
This study shows pupillary light responses reflect visual imagery strength. It provides the first objective physiological evidence confirming aphantasia as a genuine neurological condition where individuals lack visual imagery.
Kay, L., Keogh, R., Andrillon, T., & Pearson, J. (2022). The pupillary light response as a physiological index of aphantasia, sensory and phenomenological imagery strength. eLife, 11. doi:10.7554/eLife.72484
Visual working memory in aphantasia: Retained accuracy and capacity with a different strategy
People without visual imagery (aphantasia) perform normally on visual working memory tasks. This suggests visual imagery isn't essential for visual working memory, challenging assumptions about their relationship.
Keogh, R., Wicken, M., & Pearson, J. (2021). Visual working memory in aphantasia: retained accuracy and capacity with a different strategy. Cortex, 143, 237–253. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2021.07.012
Aphantasia: The science of visual imagery extremes
Aphantasia, the inability to visualize mentally, affects 1-4% of people and can be congenital or acquired. Research suggests it comprises multiple subtypes with distinct neural bases and impacts autobiographical memory more than visual working memory.
Keogh, R., Pearson, J., & Zeman, A. (n.d.). Aphantasia: the science of visual imagery extremes. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 277–296. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-821377-3.00012-X
The critical role of mental imagery in human emotion: insights from fear-based imagery and aphantasia
People with aphantasia show reduced physiological fear responses to imagined scenarios compared to controls, supporting visual imagery as an emotional amplifier. This provides the first evidence that visual imagery is crucial for emotional amplification during fearful thought.
Wicken, M., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2021). The critical role of mental imagery in human emotion: insights from fear-based imagery and aphantasia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1946), 20210267. doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.0267
A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia
People with aphantasia lack visual imagery but show reduced imagery across other sensory domains. The study reveals visual imagery serves a key role in episodic memory and dreaming, though not spatial abilities.
Dawes, A. J., Keogh, R., Andrillon, T., & Pearson, J. (2020). A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia. Scientific Reports, 10(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65705-7
Cortical excitability controls the strength of mental imagery
This study demonstrates that visual cortex excitability controls mental imagery strength, with lower excitability producing stronger imagery. Using tDCS, researchers causally showed that manipulating cortical excitability can modulate imagery, offering potential treatments for disorders involving visual hallucinations.
Keogh, R., Bergmann, J., & Pearson, J. (2020). Cortical excitability controls the strength of mental imagery. eLife, 9. doi:10.7554/eLife.50232
The blind mind: No sensory visual imagery in aphantasia
Aphantasic individuals lack genuine sensory visual imagery rather than metacognitive awareness, as demonstrated through imagery priming and binocular rivalry tasks. Bootstrapping analysis confirmed this finding was robust, showing aphantasics had significantly lower imagery priming than controls.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2018). The blind mind: no sensory visual imagery in aphantasia. Cortex, 105, 53–60. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.012
The perceptual and phenomenal capacity of mental imagery
This study reveals visual mental imagery has severe capacity limits dependent on visual feature heterogeneity, following a power law. These limitations likely stem from V1's two-dimensional representational constraints rather than attention.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2017). The perceptual and phenomenal capacity of mental imagery. Cognition, 162, 124–132. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2017.02.004
Mental Imagery and Visual Working Memory
Study finds strong mental imagery predicts better visual working memory performance, but poor imagers can still succeed using alternative strategies. This suggests imagery is one component of a compound working memory system, not its sole mechanism.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2011). Mental imagery and visual working memory. PLoS ONE, 6(12), e29221. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029221
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