Involuntary Imagery
Involuntary imagery occurs spontaneously without conscious effort, such as during dreams, reading, flashbacks, or sudden memories. Some people with aphantasia report experiencing some forms of involuntary imagery (particularly dreams) despite lacking voluntary imagery abilities. This distinction helps researchers understand the different neural pathways involved in imagery generation. On this page, you'll find research, personal experiences, and discussions about involuntary imagery and its relationship to aphantasia.
The Body-Mind Disconnect: How Your Autonomic Nervous System Shapes Mental Imagery
What if the key to understanding mental imagery differences isn't in your brain's visual centers? New research reveals why your ability to visualize may depend on something unexpected: how well you sense your own body.
A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!
Aphantasia varies across multiple dimensions including voluntary versus involuntary imagery and associated cognitive differences. Research confirms introspection reliably distinguishes imagery extremes, supporting its validity in psychology.
Zeman, A. (2025). A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109278. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109278
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.
Intrusive Thoughts Without Imagery
People with aphantasia can’t visualize, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts without imagery can be a whole-body, terrifying experience.
Impact of Aphantasia on the Reading Experience
Does aphantasia impact the reading experience? Exploring the relationship between reading preferences and mental imagery.
Hypnopompia: Between Sleep and Awake Where Someone with Aphantasia May “See” Imagery
On rare occasions in the morning, between sleep and awake, when the images from my dreams float behind my eyes, that’s when I revel in what it must be like to “see” imagery.
Pseudo-Hallucinations and Aphantasia
Ganzflicker is known to elicit the experience of pseudo-hallucinations... But how is it that some people see complex hallucinations such as "old stone castles"?
Do Aphantasic Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Discovering I have aphantasia at 46 was a revelation. How one aphantasic's journey led to serendipitous discoveries and unconventional paths.
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