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Aphantasia Logo
Aphantasia Logo

Building awareness and understanding of aphantasia through research, education, and community support.

About

  • What is Aphantasia?
  • What is Hyperphantasia?
  • Take Assessment
  • Getting Started
  • Newsletter
  • About Us
  • Contact

Community

  • Premium Membership
  • Find support
  • Discussions
  • Events
  • Visualize

For Professionals

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  • Free Introduction
  • Counselor Training
  • Educator Training
  • List Your Practice
  • Pricing & Bundles

Resources

  • Articles & Stories
  • Videos & Interviews
  • Aphantasia Course
  • FAQs

Research

  • Research Library
  • Participate in Studies
  • Recruitment Services

© 2026 Aphantasia Network. All rights reserved.

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Gustatory Aphantasia

Gustatory aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental taste experiences, sometimes referred to as a 'taste-free imagination'. This can occur in isolation or as part of multisensory aphantasia where multiple forms of mental imagery (visual, auditory, etc.) are affected. Like other forms of aphantasia, gustatory aphantasia can be present from birth (congenital) or develop later in life (acquired). This variation provides researchers valuable insights into how the brain processes and remembers taste experiences without mental simulation. On this page, you'll find research, personal stories, and community discussions about gustatory aphantasia.

Gustatory Aphantasia

Gustatory aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental taste experiences, sometimes referred to as a 'taste-free imagination'. This can occur in isolation or as part of multisensory aphantasia where multiple forms of mental imagery (visual, auditory, etc.) are affected. Like other forms of aphantasia, gustatory aphantasia can be present from birth (congenital) or develop later in life (acquired). This variation provides researchers valuable insights into how the brain processes and remembers taste experiences without mental simulation. On this page, you'll find research, personal stories, and community discussions about gustatory aphantasia.

Reference

Varieties of aphantasia

Aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with distinct subtypes involving voluntary imagery, sensory modalities, and spatial versus object details. This diversity suggests that monolithic definitions hinder accurate diagnosis and research.

Nanay, B. (2025). Varieties of aphantasia. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(11), 965–966. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.06.008

recently
Reference

A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!

A decade of research shows aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with five dimensions of variation, including sensory reach and spatial imagery. This suggests it is a diverse spectrum of abstract rather than experiential cognitive styles.

Zeman, A. (2025). A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109278. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109278

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aphantasia definition, aphantasia definitions
Article

Expanding Aphantasia Definition: Researchers Propose New Boundaries

Researchers expand aphantasia definition beyond "inability to visualize." This broader framework impacts how we understand and identify with the condition.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer and
Reference

Definition: Aphantasia

Researchers defined aphantasia as the absence of imagery and proposed specific labels for deficits across various sensory modalities. This provides a standardized framework to improve consistency in scientific research and clinical diagnosis.

Zeman, A., Monzel, M., Pearson, J., Scholz, C. O., & Simner, J. (2025). Definition: aphantasia. Cortex, 182, 212–213. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2024.07.019

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Reference

Proposal for a consistent definition of aphantasia and hyperphantasia: A response to Lambert and Sibley (2022) and Simner and Dance (2022)

Researchers propose defining aphantasia as the absence of voluntary sensory imagery across any modality. This unified terminology avoids confusing new jargon while acknowledging that imagery extremes often affect multiple senses.

Monzel, M., Mitchell, D., Macpherson, F., Pearson, J., & Zeman, A. (2022). Proposal for a consistent definition of aphantasia and hyperphantasia: a response to lambert and sibley (2022) and simner and dance (2022). Cortex, 152, 74–76. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2022.04.003

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Multisensory Aphantasia
Article

3 Things I Learned From Having Multisensory Aphantasia That Changed My Understanding Of The World

My journey understanding the cognitive profiles of aphantasia and hyperphantasia started when I learned at age 30 that most of you have a superpower I don’t.

recentlyby Steven Levithan
switching the focus
Article

Switching The Focus From Visual Imagery

A case for studying mental imagery as a whole

recently
Think of a Horse
Article

Think of a Horse: Describing Aphantasia

How do you describe aphantasia? Founder of Aphantasia Network often gets asked this question. His answer? Think of a horse.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer

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