Topic: 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.

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.
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.
Recent research has illuminated the challenges individuals with aphantasia face when remembering the past, shedding light on a concern that resonates deeply within our community.
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.
We’re not — aphants don’t see the world the way most people do. Our brains work differently.
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.
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.
Memory is tricky whether you have aphantasia or not. Here are some strategies you can use to learn and remember.
Aphantasia is not something I have; it is something I am.
When your life has been filled with trauma, you have to wonder: could aphantasia and SDAM be the source of the trauma, or could they be the means of healing?
February 14, 2024
I wonder if my mind just prefers to process the raw data from my memory without bothering to reconstruct the pictures. Clearly the memory is there or I woul...
May 22, 2023
A few days ago i came to realise that i’m pretty sure i have aphantasia and since i’ve done much research. i’ve always thought that my mind was ‘normal’ but ...
March 23, 2023
I have been conducting my own ‘research’ and seem to have stumbled on something. I would have thought that if people can really see with their mind eye they ...
March 21, 2023
There is a lot of stuff on the internet about not being able to visualize at will or at all. However, I have never seen this as a major issue for me since I ...
December 17, 2022
In this article: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-distinguishes-memories-from-perceptions-20221214/ the neurology of visual perception vs memory ...
November 25, 2022
I’m 17 years old and have had total, multi-sensory aphantasia all my life, although I only realized mental senses could even exist a few months ago. From wha...
June 5, 2022
Could all these conditions be related: Aphantasia, ADHD, Dyslexia, Amusia, Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM)? Since school I have known that ...
February 14, 2022
Hello and thanks for this opportunity to share my experience here.  My memory problems : – No sense of direction, getting lost in shopping centers/mall...
February 12, 2022
“NEW MAP OF MEANING IN THE BRAIN CHANGES IDEAS ABOUT MEMORY”   This article https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-map-of-meaning-in-the-brain-change...
October 16, 2021
My wife Selina had two major operations in 2002.  After the second one she was a different person and I gradually realised that she had lost the ability to v...
How do aphantasics relive their memories and do these differences show up in their brains? Researcher Merlin Monzel joins Aphantasia Network to share new findings on aphantasia and memory.
April 30, 2024
Aphantasia appears to overlap with this memory condition. Brian Levine joins the Founder of Aphantasia Network, Tom Ebeyer for a live Ask Me Anything event to answer questions on Aphantasia and SDAM.
December 14, 2022
Wilma Bainbridge shares insight into how we can use drawings to uncover what's inside the memory of people with aphantasia in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.
October 23, 2021
Brian Levine explores the relationship between autobiographical memory and visual imagery in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.
October 21, 2021