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Decoding sound content in the early visual cortex of aphantasic participants

Montabes de la Cruz and colleagues · Current Biology

Twenty-three people with aphantasia listened to recorded sound scenes of a forest, a crowd and traffic while blindfolded in a brain scanner. The type of sound could mostly not be read from their early visual areas, except in two small regions, although it could be in earlier studies of sighted and blind people. The drop was clear against a small blind group but not statistically reliable against 10 sighted people scanned years before. The authors suggest that signals from hearing areas into the visual cortex may be weaker in aphantasia, not only those used for imagery.