Research library
Papers about aphantasia and mental imagery, with summaries in plain words. The summaries are generated by AI and may contain errors.
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Schelp and Lambert · Auditory Perception & Cognition
In an online survey of 344 people, recruited partly through aphantasia and neurodiversity forums, those with no mind's ear (who cannot imagine sounds) or no inner voice scored lower on unusual experiences and beliefs linked to psychosis risk, and people who reported no visual imagery scored very slightly lower. Those with no mind's ear also scored a little higher on withdrawal and loss of interest. A very vivid mind's ear went with slightly more unusual experiences, while a very vivid inner voice made no difference. Effects ranged from very small to medium, and all measures were self-report questionnaires.
Lambert and colleagues · Neuropsychologia
Researchers found that anauralia and aphantasia share a 0.8% prevalence but have distinct psychological profiles. This suggests that the absence of sensory imagery is modality-specific rather than a single, unified condition.
Lambert and Sibley · Cortex
Replying to a call for one term covering absent imagery in every sense, the authors argue that "aphantasia" has come to mean absent visual imagery, so absent auditory imagery needs its own word, anauralia. In early data from about 15,000 New Zealand survey respondents, about 1% reported no visual imagery and 0.8% no auditory imagery. A few people lacked one kind of imagery while having vivid imagery of the other: 11 of 148 people who reported no visual imagery said they could hear imagined sounds as clearly as real ones.
Monzel and colleagues · Cortex
In a short reply within a debate over names, the authors argue for keeping one term, aphantasia, for absent or markedly reduced voluntary imagery in any sense, with a word added for the sense involved, such as visual or auditory aphantasia, or multisensory aphantasia when all senses are affected. They describe hyperphantasia as the opposite: imagery said to rival real perception. They note that many people with aphantasia report rare spontaneous flashes of imagery or imagery in dreams, and that lacking imagery does not mean lacking imagination.
Monzel and colleagues · Cortex
Five researchers argue that 'aphantasia' already covers missing imagery in any sense and should stay the single term. They suggest 'auditory' or 'multisensory aphantasia' rather than new words such as 'anauralia' and 'dysikonesia'.
Hinwar and Lambert · Frontiers in Psychology
In 128 adults, many recruited through aphantasia groups, self-rated visual and auditory imagery were strongly linked, and 82% of 34 aphantasic people had absent or nearly absent auditory imagery. Rare exceptions showed the two can come apart.