Memory
People with aphantasia navigate a unique cognitive landscape, employing distinct methods for encoding and retrieving memories compared to those who visualize vividly. This unique approach to memory can lead to both potential advantages and certain challenges. For individuals with aphantasia, forming and recalling memories often doesn't involve visual imagery, leading to the development of alternative, sometimes innovative, memory strategies. This can offer unique perspectives and problem-solving abilities. However, it can also present certain deficits, particularly in remembering past experiences, where visual recollection often plays a key role. To delve deeper into the intriguing interplay between aphantasia and memory, discover these resources. They explore the nuances of how aphantasia affects the way individuals recall their past, process their present experiences, and envision their future, offering a comprehensive view of this fascinating cognitive phenomenon.
The role of visual imagery and verbal coding in short-term memory conjunctive binding: evidence from aphantasia
Aphantasics performed as well as controls on feature-binding tasks even when verbal labeling was difficult. This suggests that mental imagery is not necessary for conjunctive binding, which likely relies on automatic mechanisms.
Delhaye, E., Fritz, P., Martial, C., & Bastin, C. (2026). The role of visual imagery and verbal coding in short-term memory conjunctive binding: evidence from aphantasia. Consciousness and Cognition, 141, 104036. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2026.104036
Imagination Beyond Mental Images
Haiku is often called a visual snapshot, but as a poet with aphantasia, I see nothing in my mind's eye. For forty years, I thought "picturing it" was a metaphor. From childhood memory tricks to professional poetry, I’ve learned that a mind without images doesn't lack imagination—it just meets the world through a direct and powerful connection between attention, relationship, and the timing of perception.
State but not trait measures of vividness relate to memory accuracy
Researchers found that trial-by-trial vividness predicts memory accuracy, but trait-level measures like the VVIQ do not. This suggests that moment-to-moment imagery fluctuations are more vital for memory than general imagery ability.
Duckett, W., & Simons, J. S. (2026). State but not trait measures of vividness relate to memory accuracy. Neuropsychologia, 224, 109399. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109399
Congenital aphantasia is not imagery blindsight
Aphantasia differs from blindsight because individuals retain conscious access to visual information via non-visual routes. This suggests the condition is a selective inability to format knowledge into quasi-visual experiences.
Bartolomeo, P., & Arcangeli, M. (2026). Congenital aphantasia is not imagery blindsight. Cortex, 197, 112–114. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.02.009
Pictures Without Mental Pictures: How Aphantasia Is Rewriting a 50-Year-Old Theory of Memory
New research from Wilma Bainbridge and her team at the University of Chicago reveals that people with aphantasia still remember pictures better than words—a finding that upends one of psychology's most influential theories about how memory works.
Rendering aphantasia into the social realm
Aphantasia is linked to factual autobiographical memory and reduced empathy for verbal narratives. This suggests that mental imagery is a key component of social cognition and our ability to share experiences.
Zeman, A., Digard, B., Happé, F., Levine, B., & Monzel, M. (2026). Rendering aphantasia into the social realm. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.11.014
Emotion may indirectly link rendering and social reasoning
Researchers propose that visual imagery links to social cognition and memory indirectly through emotional activation. This suggests imagery functions to trigger evolutionarily conserved emotional responses to internal simulations.
Balaban, H., & Ullman, T. D. (2026). Emotion may indirectly link rendering and social reasoning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.12.009
The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in aphantasia
Aphantasics report lower interoceptive awareness, which contributes to autobiographical memory deficits via mental imagery. This suggests aphantasia involves altered bodily processing that extends beyond a lack of visual imagery.
Monzel, M., Nagai, Y., & Silvanto, J. (2025). The role of subjective interoception in autobiographical deficits in aphantasia. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-025-23270-x
When Memory Feels Vivid: Why the Moment Matters More Than the Trait
For years, researchers asked how vivid people's mental images are in general. William Duckett asked a different question—and discovered something that's reshaping how we understand imagery and memory.
Rethinking Mental Imagery: Why Scientists Had It Wrong (And Why That's Good News)
For decades, neuroscientists assumed they understood mental imagery. Then people with aphantasia proved them wrong—and changed the future of consciousness research.
“Unseen strategies” what can the experience of Aphantasia teach us about cognitive strategies in memory?
Researchers identified semantic reliance, condensed inner speech, and external recoding as key compensatory strategies in aphantasia. This shows how individuals adapt to imagery deficits by utilizing specific alternative cognitive mechanisms.
Hayes, S. J., Miles, G. E., & Evans, S.-A. (2026). “unseen strategies” what can the experience of aphantasia teach us about cognitive strategies in memory?. New Ideas in Psychology, 80, 101215. doi:/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2025.101215
How a Visual Artist Who Can't Visualise Grew to Embrace Her Process
An artist with aphantasia cannot visualise images but embraces creating through hands-on exploration, turning absence into meaningful, innovative, and expressive works of fine art.
“I just see nothing. It’s literally just black”: a qualitative investigation into congenital aphantasia
Researchers found that aphantasia impacts autobiographical memory and facial recognition, while involuntary imagery often remains intact. This suggests that voluntary imagery is a key component of broader cognitive and social systems.
Pounder, Z., Agosto, G., Mackenzie, J.-M., & Cheshire, A. (2025). “i just see nothing. it’s literally just black”: a qualitative investigation into congenital aphantasia. Cogent Psychology, 12(1). doi:/10.1080/23311908.2025.2574255
What Living Without Mental Imagery Has Taught Me
I live without mental imagery—no pictures, no imagined sounds. But my world is rich in emotion, intuition, and presence. I parent, create, and heal by tuning into what I feel, not what I see. It’s a different way of experiencing life—and it’s deeply meaningful in its own quiet, grounded way.
The Shape of Things Unseen: Conversation with Dr. Adam Zeman On The New Science of Imagination
What if everything you thought you knew about creativity was wrong? The scientist who discovered aphantasia unveils the "new science of imagination" and explains why visualization might not be essential to human creativity.
Unconscious Imagery in Aphantasia: Understanding The Scientific Debate
Have you ever described a memory in vivid detail despite seeing nothing in your mind? It raises a fascinating question: could our brains be processing images... we just can't consciously access?
Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia: What We Know After a Decade of Research
Since 2015, "aphantasia" has reshaped our understanding of imagination, revealing that not everyone visualizes mentally. This discovery, along with "hyperphantasia," highlights the diverse nature of human imagination.
The Memory Paradox: How Aphantasia Reveals Hidden Pathways in the Brain's Recall System
How a researcher's brain imaging study of people who can't form mental images led to surprising discoveries about memory accuracy, neural noise, and the multiple pathways our minds use to access the past.
Eclipsing Aphantasia: A Journey of Discovery and Memory from the 1963 Solar Eclipse
In July 1963, Alice Grebanier's observation of a total solar eclipse marked a pivotal moment in her life. This event, merging scientific discovery with profound reflections on memory and emotion, showcases how moments of discovery can eclipse the limitations of memory recall in aphantasia.
No verbal overshadowing in aphantasia: The role of visual imagery for the verbal overshadowing effect
People with aphantasia did not experience the verbal overshadowing effect when describing faces. This suggests that the effect relies on visual imagery to interfere with recognition memory.
Monzel, M., Handlogten, J., & Reuter, M. (2024). No verbal overshadowing in aphantasia: the role of visual imagery for the verbal overshadowing effect. Cognition, 245, 105732. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105732