Phantasia
Aristotle coins the term phantasia in De Amina (On the Soul), Part III, to describe a distinct capacity between perception and thought — a sort of ‘sixth sense.’ Phantasia is commonly translated to imagination and is often explained in the context of visualizing and dreaming.
Multimodal mental comparisons in those with and without aphantasia
People with aphantasia were more accurate but slower than controls on multimodal mental comparison tasks. This suggests that sensory cognition can be successfully achieved through propositional rather than imagistic strategies.
Suggate, S. P., Milton, F., & Tree, J. (2026). Multimodal mental comparisons in those with and without aphantasia. Neuropsychologia, 222, 109373. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109373
Rendering aphantasia into the social realm
Aphantasia is linked to factual autobiographical memory and reduced empathy for verbal narratives. This suggests that mental imagery is a key component of social cognition and our ability to share experiences.
Zeman, A., Digard, B., Happé, F., Levine, B., & Monzel, M. (2026). Rendering aphantasia into the social realm. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.11.014
Alexander of Aphrodisias: The Ancient Philosopher Who Mapped Mental Imagery
This piece explores recently published philosophical research on Alexander of Aphrodisias (c. 200 AD) and its relevance to understanding aphantasia. While ancient philosophers couldn't have known about cognitive diversity as we understand it today, their assumptions about universal mental processes help us appreciate how differently minds can work.
Multisensory Imagery Enhances the Aesthetic Evaluation of Paintings: A Virtual Reality Study
Multisensory mental imagery enhances the aesthetic appeal of paintings by increasing imagery vividness and emotional arousal. This suggests that intentional imagery can be used as a cognitive strategy to deepen aesthetic experiences.
Chen, Z., Han, Z., Wu, L., & Huang, J. (2026). Multisensory imagery enhances the aesthetic evaluation of paintings: a virtual reality study. Empirical Studies of the Arts. doi:10.1177/02762374251412761
Alexander of Aphrodisias on Mental Representation
Alexander of Aphrodisias defined phantasia as a capacity using internal residues and picturing to represent objects. This causal account explains how the mind represents absent things, offering a systematic theory of intentionality.
Hangai, A. (2025). Alexander of aphrodisias on mental representation. Rhizomata, 13(2), 183–223. doi:10.1515/rhiz-2025-0007
Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition
Researchers propose that aphantasia reflects a broken rendering process within a cognitive split between physical simulation and graphics. This explains why spatial reasoning remains functional despite the lack of visual mental imagery.
Balaban, H., & Ullman, T. D. (2025). Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(11), 985–996. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.05.003
The Aphantasia-Hyperphantasia spectrum
Aphantasia is a heterogeneous phenomenon involving multiple distinct spectrums rather than a single monolithic condition. This suggests that studying the entire spectrum is key to understanding individual differences in cognition and emotion.
Nanay, B. (2025). The aphantasia-hyperphantasia spectrum. Neuropsychologia, 109293. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109293
Brain-Computer Interface tool use and the Contemplation Conundrum: a blueprint of mental action, agency, and control
Researchers proposed the contemplation conundrum, where BCI actions are voluntary yet unintentional due to overlapping neural signatures between contemplation and intention. Studying aphantasia may help isolate markers to improve BCI control.
Mehta, D. (2025). Brain-computer interface tool use and the contemplation conundrum: a blueprint of mental action, agency, and control. Oxford Open Neuroscience, 4. doi:10.1093/oons/kvaf002
Ekphrasis: The Ancient Art of Evoking Vivid Mental Images
Did the ancient Greeks know some people can’t create mental images? The forgotten history of ekphrasis challenges our assumptions about imagination and offers surprising insights into our image-saturated world.
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.
Rethinking Hyperphantasia: Why "Extreme" Mental Imagery Might Be Two Different Phenomena
A neuroscientist's research reveals that people with hyperphantasia may actually experience fundamentally different types of "extreme" mental imagery - challenging our understanding of vivid visualization.
Can't Visualize An Apple? Try This Apple Illusion to Experience What Others See
This apple illusion allows people who can't visualize to temporarily 'see' an image that isn't there—using visual perception to demonstrate what others experience through their imagination.
Phenomenological Studies of Visual Mental Imagery: A Review and Synthesis of Historical Datasets
Researchers identified 16 consistent characteristics of visual mental imagery across diverse historical and cultural datasets. This taxonomic template provides a more precise framework for defining imagery and refining aphantasia diagnoses.
Marks, D. F. (2023). Phenomenological studies of visual mental imagery: a review and synthesis of historical datasets. Vision, 7(4), 67. doi:10.3390/vision7040067
Are You a Visualizer or Conceptualizer? The Ball on a Table Test
The Ball on a Table experiment is a simple visualization test that reveals whether you think in pictures (visualizer) or concepts (conceptualizer). This revealing experiment, originally credited to u/Caaaarrrl, takes less than a minute but provides profound insights into how your mind processes information.
The Visualizer’s Fallacy
Understanding the hidden assumptions that lead to biases against aphantasics’ cognitive abilities.
The Language Game of Visualization: Why Aphantasics Don't Need Mental Images to Imagine
How a philosopher's investigation into a simple paradox—people who can't visualize yet excel at "visual" tasks—led him to challenge centuries of assumptions about imagination, mental images, and the nature of thought itself.
What is normal imagination??
What does it mean to truly imagine? Exploring the differences in mental imagery experiences can reveal unexpected insights.
What do typical visualizers experience?
What do you "see" in your mind when visualizing? Share your experiences and help clarify this intriguing phenomenon!
Visualizing the Invisible
What do typical visualizers experience? How does my imaginative experience compare? Designer Melanie Scheer introduces a new way to visualize the visual imagination spectrum.
The Spectrum of Visual Imagination and its Relevance to Design
What do typical visualizers experience? How do hyperphantasics experience visual imagery? Melanie Scheer presents a new way to depict the visual imagination spectrum.