Researcher pathways
Three ways to engage with aphantasia research on the Network.
AphantasiaResearch
Explore a comprehensive collection of academic papers, research studies, and scientific publications about aphantasia, imagery, and cognitive neuroscience.
Do you see what I see? Linking involuntary nonretinal (phantom) vision and mental imagery in aphantasia
People with aphantasia experience the neon color spreading illusion at a lower intensity than those with imagery. This suggests voluntary imagery and certain involuntary visual phenomena share overlapping neural mechanisms.
Keogh, R., Kay, L., Meagher, C., & Pearson, J. (2025). Do you see what i see? linking involuntary nonretinal (phantom) vision and mental imagery in aphantasia. Journal of Vision, 25(14), 10. doi:10.1167/jov.25.14.10
The potential risks of opening the mind’s eye with psychedelic therapies
Psychedelics may trigger visual imagery in people with aphantasia by reconfiguring brain networks. This suggests a need for informed consent as gaining imagery may increase risks for intrusive thoughts and mental distress.
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 were slower but more accurate on mental rotation tasks, favoring analytic strategies over holistic imagery. This shows visual imagery is not essential for spatial reasoning, as alternative cognitive tools can be used instead.
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
Multisensory subtypes of aphantasia: Mental imagery as supramodal perception in reverse
Researchers found that aphantasia is heterogeneous, with 24% of individuals lacking imagery across all sensory modalities. This suggests the condition can involve a global, supramodal deficit in top-down sensory processing.
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
Revisiting the blind mind: Still no evidence for sensory visual imagery in individuals with aphantasia
A large study found people with aphantasia lack sensory visual imagery during binocular rivalry tasks. This confirms aphantasia is a genuine lack of sensory-level imagery rather than a difference in metacognitive self-reporting.
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
Fewer intrusive memories in aphantasia: using the trauma film paradigm as a laboratory model of PTSD
People with aphantasia reported fewer and more verbal intrusive memories after viewing traumatic films. This suggests visual imagery is a key driver of PTSD and its absence may reduce susceptibility to developing the disorder.
Keogh, R., Wicken, M., & Pearson, J. (2023). 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 generated fewer episodic details when remembering the past or imagining the future, especially visual ones. This indicates that visual imagery is a key cognitive tool for the rich mental simulation of personal 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
Aphantasic individuals lack the involuntary pupillary light response that typically occurs when imagining bright or dark stimuli. This provides the first objective physiological index to validate aphantasia and measure mental imagery strength.
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
Aphantasics performed as well as controls on visual working memory tasks by using non-visual strategies like verbal labeling. This shows that visual imagery and working memory are distinct processes rather than the same cognitive function.
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
Researchers found that aphantasics use non-visual labeling strategies to succeed on tasks typically associated with mental imagery. This demonstrates the brain's multirepresentational nature and proves visualization is not required for complex thought.
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
Aphantasic individuals showed flat-line physiological fear when reading scary stories but normal responses to scary images. This suggests mental imagery acts as an emotional amplifier for thoughts.
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
Attention driven phantom vision: measuring the sensory strength of attentional templates and their relation to visual mental imagery and aphantasia
When we search for an object in an array or anticipate attending to a future object, we create an ‘attentional template' of the object. The definitions of attentional templates and visual imagery share many similarities as well as many of the same neural characteristics. However, the phenomenology of these attentional templates and their neural similarities to visual imagery and perception are rarely, if ever discussed. Here, we investigate the relationship between these two forms of non-retinal phantom vision through the use of the binocular rivalry technique, which allows us to measure the sensory strength of attentional templates in the absence of concurrent perceptual stimuli. We find that attentional templates correlate with both feature-based attention and visual imagery. Attentional templates, like imagery, were significantly disrupted by the presence of irrelevant visual stimuli, while feature-based attention was not. We also found that a special population who lack the ability to visualize (aphantasia), showed evidence of feature-based attention when measured using the binocular rivalry paradigm, but not attentional templates. Taken together, these data suggest functional similarities between attentional templates and visual imagery, advancing the theory of visual imagery as a general simulation tool used across cognition. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Offline perception: voluntary and spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation’.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2021). Attention driven phantom vision: measuring the sensory strength of attentional templates and their relation to visual mental imagery and aphantasia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1817), 20190688. doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0688
A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia
Aphantasia involves reduced imagery across all sensory domains and less vivid memories and dreams, while spatial skills remain intact. This suggests visual imagery is a normative representational tool for many wider cognitive processes.
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
Researchers found that lower visual cortex excitability and higher prefrontal activity predict stronger mental imagery. This identifies a causative neural mechanism for imagery strength and provides a tool for modulating imagination.
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
Researchers used an objective binocular rivalry task to show that individuals with aphantasia lack the sensory priming effects typically produced by mental imagery. This suggests that aphantasia is a condition involving a true lack of sensory visual representation rather than a failure of metacognitive awareness.
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
Researchers found that visual imagery strength and precision decline as the number of imagined items increases. This suggests mental imagery is constrained by the anatomical architecture of the early visual cortex.
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
Mental imagery strength predicts visual working memory performance, but those with poor imagery succeed using alternative strategies. This indicates that visual working memory can operate through distinct sensory or non-sensory pathways.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2011). Mental imagery and visual working memory. PLoS ONE, 6(12), e29221. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029221
You've reached the end of the references.