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Topic: Multisensory Aphantasia

Aphantasia is often described as a visual condition but can impact all senses in your imagination. Current estimates are that ~26% of visual aphantasics experience no mental imagery or have a reduced capacity in other mental senses (imagining sound, movement, smell, taste, and touch). Discover and learn about multisensory aphantasia.

  • 6 Articles
  • 8 Discussions
  • 1 Videos
  • 11 Research
imagery to heal or improve performance
Stories
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?
Jim Collison
on July 10, 2023
Multisensory Aphantasia
Stories
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.
Steven Levithan
on June 23, 2021
switching the focus
Science
Switching The Focus From Visual Imagery
A case for studying mental imagery as a whole
Andrea Blomkvist
on February 19, 2021
Stories
Can You Hear Music in Your Mind’s Ear?
I can't. Exploring auditory aphantasia and the mysterious mind's ear.
Alan Kendle
on July 9, 2019
Think of a Horse
Strategies
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.
Tom Ebeyer
on January 24, 2019
mind's eye, breakfast study
Science
Can We Reliably Evaluate the Vividness of Our Mind’s Eye?
When it comes to visualizing things in the mind's eye, our experience varies widely. Exploring the phenomenon of visual imagery and its assessment.
Aphantasia Network
on September 1, 2018
Ryqer Scheuerman
March 6, 2023
Whether Aphantasia Is exclusively visual.
I’m pretty sure based on previous conversations, that Aphantasia is the inability to recall all senses, like sight,  taste, touch, sound, etc. But this...
Zachtytuslyles
February 17, 2023
I have aphantasia, but somehow can picture dynamics and movement…
Okay, it’s not exactly that I can visualize movement. I don’t know how to explain it, it’s without visuals yet I can still imagine movement...
Phedre Parks
April 21, 2022
Multisensory Aphantasia and Empathy
To begin, let me clarify my understanding of empathy vs sympathy.  Empathy means experiencing someone else’s emotions while sympathy is an ability to u...
John Mulligan
June 26, 2021
Thinking in moving shapes/fields, non-verbally
I read a post by Ian Miller that describes the way I think.  He said: “I build mental models of almost everything that I work on, they are often spatia...
Derek Emery
June 17, 2021
Can aphantasia make you feel different to others: do effects reach beyond visual?
I only discovered my aphantasia a few years ago (81 now) but was always aware that I didn’t think like others and was vaguely aware than many seemed to...
Chriscar
February 21, 2021
Am I unusual in having no sensory memory at all, visual , audio , smell
I have only just discovered Aphantasia as a result of research after also just discovering that other people have a voice in their head. I am now astounded t...
Aimee Seaver
September 30, 2019
Do you have a physical imagination?
There’s a wide range of ways we can have aphantasia. Some people have total aphantasia, no visual, auditory, olfactory, or motor imagery, and some of u...
Tom Ebeyer
November 12, 2018
Visual or all senses?
Aphantasia isn’t limited to just visual imagination; it can impact all sensory imagery in the mind. For example, when most people go to a restaurant and see ...
Aphantasia and Mental Imagery
Aphantasia and Mental Imagery
Aphantasia is the inability to visualize but can impact all mental imagery senses. Joel Pearson joins Founder of Aphantasia Network, Tom Ebeyer, for a live Ask Me Anything event to answer the community's questions.
February 25, 2021
Insights into embodied cognition and mental imagery from aphantasia
Muraki, E. J., Speed, L. J., & Pexman, P. M. (2023). Insights into embodied cognition and mental imagery from aphantasia. Nature Reviews Psychology. doi:10.1038/s44159-023-00221-9
Mental representations are the mind's way of understanding and communicating countless concepts. One of the big questions in cognitive psychology is how our brain stores and retrieves the meanings of these concepts. Some theories, known as embodied theories, suggest that when we think of a concept, our brain "simulates" or recreates sensory and physical experiences related to that concept. For instance, thinking of an apple might briefly make us imagine its taste, texture, and color. However, there's debate about how these simulations work or even if they're essential. A way to explore this is by studying mental imagery, which is our ability to create pictures in our mind. Some people, due to a condition called aphantasia, can't form these mental images. By understanding this condition, we can gain insights into how our mind uses imagery and simulations. This paper reviews the idea that our cognition is "embodied" and delves into research on mental imagery. It also discusses the emerging studies on aphantasia and how it can help us understand the broader theories of how our mind represents concepts.
Aphantasia, Unsymbolized Thinking and Conscious Thought
Krempel, R. (2023). Aphantasia, unsymbolized thinking and conscious thought. Erkenntnis. doi:10.1007/s10670-023-00706-2
This paper challenges the prevailing belief that conscious thoughts necessarily involve mental images or quasi-perceptual experiences, even when considering abstract concepts. It argues that unsymbolized thinking (thoughts without imagery) and total aphantasia (inability to produce mental images) cast doubt on this view. The author rejects the counterargument that individuals experiencing unsymbolized thinking or aphantasia are mistaken or lack conscious thoughts. Instead, they propose that unsymbolized thinking and aphantasia offer evidence that conscious thoughts can occur without relying on any form of mental imagery, questioning the long-standing assumption about the inseparable connection between conscious thoughts and mental images.
No clear evidence of a difference between individuals who self-report an absence of auditory imagery and typical imagers on auditory imagery tasks
Pounder, Z., Eardley, A., Loveday, C., & Evans, S. (2023). No clear evidence of a difference between individuals who self-report an absence of auditory imagery and typical imagers on auditory imagery tasks. doi:10.31234/osf.io/n6m5r
Aphantasia is the inability to create mental images in one's mind, but it's not just limited to visual imagery. Recent studies have shown that individuals with aphantasia also struggle with auditory imagery. However, it's unclear whether these deficits in self-reported auditory imagery translate into actual difficulties with tasks that require auditory imagery. To investigate this, individuals with aphantasia and matched controls completed two tasks that required auditory imagery. The results showed that, despite self-reported deficits in both visual and auditory imagery, participants with aphantasia performed similarly to controls on the auditory imagery tasks. This suggests that there may be mechanisms that obscure the observation of imagery deficits in auditory imagery tasks in people with reduced auditory imagery. These findings shed light on the core deficits of aphantasia and provide insight into the extent to which imagery draws on modality-specific or modality-general processes.
Diversity of aphantasia revealed by multiple assessments of the capability for multi-sensory imagery
Takahashi, J., Saito, G., Omura, K., Yasunaga, D., Sugimura, S., Sakamoto, S., … Gyoba, J. (2022). Diversity of aphantasia revealed by multiple assessments of the capability for multi-sensory imagery. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1703706/v1
Aphantasia is a condition where people struggle to form mental images despite having normal perception. The existing studies use two criteria to identify aphantasia: the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ) and self-identification of the absence of visual imagery. However, these two criteria often result in different proportions of aphantasia in the population, and the reason for this discrepancy is unclear. To further investigate, a study was conducted with 2,885 participants where they completed the VVIQ and Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery (QMI) and self-identified the absence of visual imagery. The study found that 3.67% of the participants were identified as aphantasia by the VVIQ criteria and 12.24% by self-identification. The results showed that some individuals in the low VVIQ group had the absence of all sensory imagery, while others had the absence of visual imagery only. The study suggests that visual criteria alone are not enough to fully understand the different types of aphantasia and that evaluating multi-sensory imagery may be more helpful in characterizing aphantasia in different sensory modalities.
Aphantasia, dysikonesia, anauralia: call for a single term for the lack of mental imagery – Commentary on Dance et al. (2021) and Hinwar and Lambert (2021)
Monzel, M., Mitchell, D., Macpherson, F., Pearson, J., & Zeman, A. (2022). [Review of Aphantasia, dysikonesia, anauralia: call for a single term for the lack of mental imagery-Commentary on Dance et al. (2021) and Hinwar and Lambert (2021)]. Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior, 150, 149–152. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2022.02.002
Recently, the term ‘aphantasia’ has become current in scientific and public discourse to denote the absence of mental imagery. However, new terms for aphantasia or its subgroups have recently been proposed, e.g., ‘dysikonesia’ or ‘anauralia’, which complicates the literature, research communication and understanding for the general public. Before further terms emerge, we advocate the consistent use of the term ‘aphantasia’ as it can be used flexibly and precisely, and is already widely known in the scientific community and among the general public.
Anauralia: The silent mind and its association with Aphantasia
Hinwar, R. P., & Lambert, A. J. (2021). Anauralia: The silent mind and its association with aphantasia. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 744213. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.744213
A study was conducted with 128 participants to examine auditory and visual imagery, with 34 of them self-reporting as having aphantasia (lack of mental imagery). The results showed a strong association between auditory and visual imagery, with most self-reported aphantasics also reporting weak or no auditory imagery. Participants with weak auditory imagery tended to also have aphantasia. However, there were exceptions with one individual in the aphantasic group having typical auditory imagery and one person in the group lacking auditory imagery having typical visual imagery. This suggests that weak auditory and visual imagery can occur independently, although it is rare. The study concludes by suggesting further research into the topic.
What is the link between mental imagery and sensory sensitivity? Insights from Aphantasia
Dance, C. J., Ward, J., & Simner, J. (2021). What is the link between mental imagery and sensory sensitivity? Insights from aphantasia. Perception, 50(9), 757–782. doi:10.1177/03010066211042186
New research shows that people with aphantasia, a condition where they struggle to form mental images, not only have impaired visual imagery but also lower sensory sensitivity across multiple senses such as olfactory and gustatory. The study tested individuals with and without aphantasia and found that imagery and sensitivity are related. People with aphantasia reported not only lower imagery but also lower sensory sensitivity. The research also suggests that aphantasia may be a subtype of a broader imagery deficit, where weak or absent imagery occurs across multiple senses. These findings provide new insights into the relationship between sensory imagery and sensitivity, shedding light on the characteristics of aphantasia.
Phantasia – the psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes
Zeman, A., Milton, F., Della Sala, S., Dewar, M., Frayling, T., Gaddum, J., … Winlove, C. (2020). Phantasia-The psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes. Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior, 130, 426–440. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2020.04.003
Visual imagery typically enables us to see absent items in the mind's eye. It plays a role in memory, day-dreaming and creativity. Since coining the terms aphantasia and hyperphantasia to describe the absence and abundance of visual imagery, Adam Zeman and his team have been contacted by many thousands of people with extreme imagery abilities. Through data collected from questionnaires filled by 2000 participants with aphantasia and 200 with hyperphantasia, the researchers have found some interesting patterns. Participants with aphantasia tend to work in scientific and mathematical fields and have difficulty with face recognition and autobiographical memory. On the other hand, those with hyperphantasia tend to work in creative fields and have a higher rate of synaesthesia. The study found that around half of the participants with aphantasia reported the absence of wakeful imagery in all sense modalities, but most of them dream visually. The researchers have also noted that aphantasia runs in families more frequently than expected. This study highlights the widespread but neglected features of human experience with informative psychological associations.
A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia
Dawes, A. J., Keogh, R., Andrillon, T., & Pearson, J. (2020). A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 10022. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65705-7
Visual imagery is an important part of many people's internal experiences and helps with cognitive processes. However, some individuals with aphantasia lack the ability to generate visual imagery. Recent research suggests that aphantasia is defined by a lack of visual imagery and not a lack of awareness of it. A study showed that compared to people who have the ability to create imagery, aphantasic individuals have decreased imagery in other senses, but not all report a complete lack of multi-sensory imagery. They also have less vivid and rich memories and future scenarios, and fewer and less vivid dreams. However, their spatial abilities remain unchanged and aphantasic individuals do not appear to be considerably protected against all forms of trauma symptomatology in response to stressful life events. These findings suggest that visual imagery is a normal tool for representing events, but with large variability between individuals.
The perceptual and phenomenal capacity of mental imagery
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2017). The perceptual and phenomenal capacity of mental imagery. Cognition, 162, 124–132. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2017.02.004
This study explores the limits of mental imagery and its connection to sensory representations. The authors introduce a new method to measure the sensory capacity of mental imagery without relying on memory or subjective reports. They found that a "perceptual and phenomenal bottleneck limits visual imagery" and that its precision declines rapidly with the number of stimuli, following a power law. The results suggest that mental imagery is limited by sensory processes and could provide important insights into the limits of human information processing.