Neuroscience & Mechanisms
What does the brain do differently when it can't generate mental images? Researchers use fMRI, electrical stimulation, and connectivity mapping to find out.
Reference
A neuronal basis for mental imagery
Researchers discovered that mental imagery reactivates the same sensory code as perception at the single-neuron level. This suggests that aphantasia may stem from how this shared activity is generated, modulated, or read out by the brain.
Fleming, S. M., & Dijkstra, N. (2026). A neuronal basis for mental imagery. Cell Research. doi:10.1038/s41422-026-01260-6
Reference
Spiking the mind: Rethinking the role of cortical feedback in visual mental imagery.
Researchers propose that imagery reshapes spontaneous neural activity via inhibitory feedback rather than driving new spikes in early visual areas. This suggests the spectrum from aphantasia to hyperphantasia is driven by the strength of cortical inhibition.
Koenig-Robert, R., Pace, T., & Pearson, J. (2026). Spiking the mind: rethinking the role of cortical feedback in visual mental imagery.. Psychological Review. doi:10.1037/rev0000621
Reference
Mental imagery and perception overlap within transmodal association networks
Mental imagery and perception overlap in transmodal association networks rather than unimodal sensory areas. This suggests that high-level brain systems, not just sensory reinstatement, are the primary drivers of mental imagery.
Anderson, N. L., Salvo, J. J., Smallwood, J., & Braga, R. M. (2026). Mental imagery and perception overlap within transmodal association networks. Neuron. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2026.03.013
Reference
Neuroradiological Insights into Visual Mental Imagery: Structural and Functional Imaging of Ventral and Dorsal Streams
Researchers found that visual imagery recruits ventral and dorsal streams, with deficits often caused by white-matter disconnection. This suggests aphantasia is a network-level condition where higher-order systems fail to engage visual representations.
Redžepi, S., Avdagić, E., Šahinović, A., & Pojskić, M. (2026). Neuroradiological insights into visual mental imagery: structural and functional imaging of ventral and dorsal streams. Brain Sciences, 16(4), 345. doi:10.3390/brainsci16040345
Reference
The Fusiform Imagery Node: Where vision meets concepts in the left temporal lobe
The Fusiform Imagery Node (FIN) in the left hemisphere is a key hub for generating mental images across different domains. This suggests that aphantasia may result from impaired communication between the FIN and the prefrontal cortex.
Bartolomeo, P., Liu, J., & Spagna, A. (2026). The fusiform imagery node: where vision meets concepts in the left temporal lobe. Neuropsychologia, 224, 109398. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109398
Reference
Disturbing the sound of silence: Bilateral temporal cortex stimulation and auditory mental imagery
Bilateral temporal cortex stimulation significantly reduced the volitional control of auditory imagery while leaving vividness largely unaffected. This suggests that the ability to manipulate internal sounds relies on specific temporal-cortical dynamics distinct from those supporting image clarity.
Rollo, B., Malatesta, G., D’Anselmo, A., Lucafò, C., & Tommasi, L. (2026). Disturbing the sound of silence: bilateral temporal cortex stimulation and auditory mental imagery. Brain and Cognition, 192, 106378. doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106378
Reference
Lesions Causing Aphantasia are Connected to the Fusiform Imagery Node
Lesions causing aphantasia are all functionally connected to a specific region in the left ventral visual pathway called the fusiform imagery node. This provides causal evidence that this node's connections are key for voluntary visual imagery.
Kutsche, J., Howard, C., Palacin, A. C., Drew, W., Michel, M., Cohen, A. L., Fox, M. D., & Kletenik, I. (2026). Lesions causing aphantasia are connected to the fusiform imagery node. Cortex. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.01.009
Reference
Neural network topologies supporting individual variations in vividness of visual imagery
Vivid mental imagery is supported by high local efficiency and segregation in the imagery, occipital, and salience brain networks. This suggests that specialized, localized information transfer across these key networks is essential for vivid visualization.
Kvamme, T. L., Lumaca, M., Bajada, C. J., Gregersen, S. D., Hobot, J., Paunovic, D., Wierzchon, M., Zana, B., Silvanto, J., & Sandberg, K. (2025). Neural network topologies supporting individual variations in vividness of visual imagery. NeuroImage, 321, 121520. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121520
Reference
Visual imagery vividness correlates with afterimage conscious perception
Researchers found that visual imagery vividness positively correlates with the contrast and sharpness of negative afterimages. This suggests that afterimages and mental imagery may share top-down neural mechanisms in the brain.
Kronemer, S. I., Holness, M., Morgan, A. T., Teves, J. B., Gonzalez-Castillo, J., Handwerker, D. A., & Bandettini, P. A. (2024). Visual imagery vividness correlates with afterimage conscious perception. Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2024(1). doi:10.1093/nc/niae032
Reference
Neuronal activation patterns during self-referential pain imagination
Imagining oneself in painful situations activates brain regions typically involved in actual pain processing, such as the somatosensory and motor cortices. This provides preliminary evidence for a neuronal imagination-perception overlap in pain.
Vetterlein, A., Plieger, T., Monzel, M., Hogeterp, S. A., Wagner, L., Grünhage, T., Felten, A., Trautner, P., Karneboge, J., & Reuter, M. (2024). Neuronal activation patterns during self-referential pain imagination. Neurobiology of Pain, 16, 100158. doi:10.1016/j.ynpai.2024.100158
Reference
Uncovering the Role of the Early Visual Cortex in Visual Mental Imagery
The early visual cortex represents fine-grained visual details during mental imagery in a similar way to perception. This suggests that the recruitment of these areas depends on the level of visual detail required by the mental image.
Dijkstra, N. (2024). Uncovering the role of the early visual cortex in visual mental imagery. Vision, 8(2), 29. doi:10.3390/vision8020029
Reference
Visual imagery deficits in posterior cortical atrophy
Posterior cortical atrophy causes progressive impairment of higher-order visual functions due to degeneration in the brain's posterior regions. Recognizing these specific visual deficits is crucial for early diagnosis of this atypical Alzheimer's variant.
Dietz, C. D., Albonico, A., Tree, J. J., & Barton, J. J. S. (2023). Visual imagery deficits in posterior cortical atrophy. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 40(7-8), 351–366. doi:10.1080/02643294.2024.2346362
Reference
Modelling perception as a hierarchical competition differentiates imagined, veridical, and hallucinated percepts
Researchers found that sensory input competes with mental imagery in a hierarchical neural network, preventing thoughts from dominating low-level sensory regions. This explains why mental imagery feels less vivid than real perception and how aphantasia arises from overweighted bottom-up signals.
Sulfaro, A. A., Robinson, A. K., & Carlson, T. A. (2023). Modelling perception as a hierarchical competition differentiates imagined, veridical, and hallucinated percepts. Neuroscience of Consciousness, 2023(1). doi:10.1093/nc/niad018
Reference
Visual mental imagery engages the left fusiform gyrus, but not the early visual cortex: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging evidence
Researchers found that visual mental imagery relies on a core network in the left fusiform gyrus and fronto-parietal regions rather than early visual cortex. This suggests imagery is a top-down process initiated by prefrontal and semantic systems.
Spagna, A., Hajhajate, D., Liu, J., & Bartolomeo, P. (2021). Visual mental imagery engages the left fusiform gyrus, but not the early visual cortex: a meta-analysis of neuroimaging evidence. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 122, 201–217. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.029
