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.
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
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
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
Memories Without Imagery—Remembering Outside the Lines
People with aphantasia may struggle with memory recall. This may be because our memories are image-free. But, just because we can't see our memories, does that mean we don't have them? The ability to visualize is not a prerequisite for remembering rich experiences.
How Aphantasia Affects Memory: Research Reveals Why Remembering the Past Is Challenging
New research from the University of Bonn reveals how aphantasia affects memory, particularly when remembering the past. The study of 30 participants found that people with aphantasia experience significant challenges in recalling autobiographical memories.
How Our Invisible Differences Can Enrich a Marriage
Whether you’re an aphant or a visualizer, marriage, or any loving partnership, is about commitment. Among other things, commitment means respecting each other’s differences and working through them lovingly.
How Aphantasia Can Make You Seem Insensitive
We’re not — aphants don’t see the world the way most people do. Our brains work differently.
Understanding Your Aphant
How do you support someone when they suddenly realize they've been blind their whole life? What about when it's a blindness most of the world has never heard of and many don't believe exists? It's called aphantasia. Let's talk.
Do Opposites Attract? Exploring Aphantasia and Hyperphantasia in Marriage
When I learned that I had aphantasia and that my husband of 40 years has hyperphantasia, it gave the idea “opposites attract” a whole new meaning.