Motor Aphantasia
Motor aphantasia is the inability to mentally simulate physical movements or actions, sometimes called 'movement-free imagination.' Like other forms of aphantasia, it can occur in isolation or as part of multisensory aphantasia affecting multiple types of mental imagery. Whether congenital or acquired, motor aphantasia impacts activities typically enhanced by movement imagination, such as sports, dance, or learning new physical skills. This variation provides insights into how the brain processes and learns movements without mental rehearsal. On this page, you'll find aphantasia research, personal stories, and community discussions about motor aphantasia.
Aphantasia and Motor Imagery: A Step Further in Understanding Imagery and its Role in Motor Cognition
Aphantasics showed reduced right-brain activation and increased left middle frontal gyrus activity during motor imagery. This suggests they use compensatory semantic strategies, indicating mental imagery is not essential for motor cognition.
Peruski, A. (2026). Aphantasia and motor imagery: a step further in understanding imagery and its role in motor cognition. Journal of Neurophysiology. doi:10.1152/jn.00608.2025
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
Motor imagery in individuals with congenital aphantasia
People with aphantasia showed reduced right motor cortex activity during motor imagery, relying on semantic rather than visual strategies. This indicates that aphantasia involves distinct neural mechanisms for simulating physical movement.
Kwaśniak, R., Zapała, D., Augustynowicz, P., & Szubielska, M. (2025). Motor imagery in individuals with congenital aphantasia. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-025-20168-6
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
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.
Invisible Rehearsal: How Aphantasia Affects Motor Simulation and Rehabilitation
Understanding how our brain performs motor simulations is crucial for enhancing motor skills, whether it be in sports performance, motor rehabilitation, or simple everyday movements. But what happens when a person cannot simulate these movements?
Can Aphantasics Use Imagery to Heal or Improve Performance?
From guided imagery to imagined athletic practices, are aphantasics disadvantaged because they lack a mind’s eye?
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
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.
Switching The Focus From Visual Imagery
A case for studying mental imagery as a whole
Do you have a physical imagination?
Can you imagine sensations like textures or body movements? Share your experiences with physical imagination!
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.
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