Objective Measures
Aphantasia can be identified through objective measures, including physiological, behavioral and neurological identifiers. Learn about these measures and how scientists identify aphantasia with these informative resources.
Pupil changes to voluntary and involuntary visual imagery: A unified paradigm with implications for aphantasia research
Researchers found that pupil constriction occurs during both voluntary and involuntary imagery but does not correlate with self-reported vividness. This underscores the need for objective physiological tools to reliably assess aphantasia.
Vanbuckhave, C., Huson, N., Lœvenbruck, H., Guyader, N., & Chauvin, A. (2026). Pupil changes to voluntary and involuntary visual imagery: a unified paradigm with implications for aphantasia research. Neuropsychologia, 223, 109378. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109378
Disturbing the sound of silence: Bilateral temporal cortex stimulation and auditory mental imagery
Stimulating the temporal cortex with hf-tRNS significantly reduced the volitional control of auditory imagery. This indicates that auditory imagery relies on active, generative neural dynamics within the temporal cortex.
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
Imagery modulates the pupillary response, but this does not reliably index differences in imagery vividness.
Researchers found that imagery modulates pupillary responses, but these changes do not correlate with individual vividness ratings. This suggests pupillary response is not a reliable objective index for measuring individual differences in imagery.
Gardner, D., Saurels, B. W., & Arnold, D. H. (2026). Imagery modulates the pupillary response, but this does not reliably index differences in imagery vividness.. Cortex. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2025.11.018
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
Is aphantasia a neurological deficit? An event-related potentials entropy study on perception and mental imagery interaction
Aphantasics showed higher brain entropy in frontal and temporal lobes and improved accuracy on specific trials. This indicates aphantasia is a distinct cognitive processing mode rather than a neurological deficit.
Wymark, D., Jani, V., Sheculski, M., & D'Angiulli, A. (2025). Is aphantasia a neurological deficit? an event-related potentials entropy study on perception and mental imagery interaction. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 480, 125361. doi:10.1016/j.jns.2025.125361
Neural network topologies supporting individual variations in vividness of visual imagery
Vivid imagery is linked to local efficiency in the left fusiform gyrus and structural segregation in the occipital network. This suggests vividness emerges from the interplay of sensory processing and higher-order regulatory hubs.
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
Why indecisive trials matter: Improving the binocular rivalry imagery priming score for the assessment of aphantasia
Researchers discovered that incorporating mixed trials into binocular rivalry scores increases the task's predictive validity for mental imagery. This provides a more reliable and efficient objective measure for identifying individuals with aphantasia.
Monzel, M., Scholz, C. O., Pearson, J., & Reuter, M. (2025). Why indecisive trials matter: improving the binocular rivalry imagery priming score for the assessment of aphantasia. Behavior Research Methods, 57(9). doi:10.3758/s13428-025-02780-6
Neurodiversity in mental simulation: conceptual but not visual imagery priming modulates perception across the imagery vividness spectrum
Conceptual priming modulated perception across the vividness spectrum, even when visual imagery priming failed in those with low vividness. This indicates that abstract simulation styles are effective non-visual cognitive strategies.
Welker, Á., Pető-Plaszkó, O., Verebélyi, L., Gombos, F., Winkler, I., & Kovács, I. (2025). Neurodiversity in mental simulation: conceptual but not visual imagery priming modulates perception across the imagery vividness spectrum. Scientific Reports, 15(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-025-05100-2
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.
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.
Breaking the Connectivity Code: How The Aphantasia Brain Access Visual Information Without the Mind's Eye
How a brain researcher's journey from engineering to neuroscience uncovered the hidden networks that allow people with aphantasia to navigate a visual world without mental imagery—and what this reveals about the nature of consciousness itself.
Do We Become More Aphantasic With Age? A Hungarian Research Team Has Some Surprising Answers
How a student's curiosity about her own family sparked a decade-long investigation into imagery vividness — and uncovered a near-perfect developmental curve that nobody had seen before.
Pupils Can Detect Aphantasia
Eyes are the window to the soul... and Aphantasia? New study finds pupils can detect mental imagery strength. Joel Pearson joins the Aphantasia Network to present on this fascinating new discovery.
DNA Testing
Curious if anyone has explored potential DNA links to hereditary traits, inspired by unexpected findings from genetic testing.
Measuring Aphantasia
How can aphantasia be measured? Joel Pearson talks about measuring aphantasia objectively and reliably in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference.
The genetic basis of aphantasia
Could genetic diversity in cognitive processes explain our survival as a species? Exploring potential markers in the cognitive spectrum is intriguing.
Mental Imagery Research: Understanding Aphantasia and the Mind's Eye with Joel Pearson
The accidental discovery that became the foundation for objective measurement techniques in mental imagery and aphantasia research.
Shocking Insights: What Electrical Stimulation Tells Us About How We Visualize
Why might your mind's eye be blind while your friend can picture crystal-clear images? Shocking insights into the known neurodifferences in imagery vividness.
Is there an objective test for aphantasia?
Is there a way to objectively measure mental visualization? Can a specific test definitively determine how we experience imagery in our minds?
How To Test For Aphantasia At Home Using Binocular Rivalry
Discover if you have aphantasia using a simple binocular rivalry test you can do at home. Learn about objective measurement techniques and what your results could mean.
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