Spatial Imagery

Spatial imagery is locating and moving objects in mental space, distinct from picturing what they look like. People with aphantasia often score well here.

Spatial Imagery

Spatial imagery is locating and moving objects in mental space, distinct from picturing what they look like. People with aphantasia often score well here.

Reference

Similar eye movements in aphantasia and visualizers during mental map exploration

Aphantasic individuals showed eye movement patterns similar to visualizers when exploring mental maps despite reporting no subjective imagery. This suggests aphantasia may reflect reduced metacognitive access to imagery rather than a total absence of representational content.

Takamura, Y., Coustaty, S., Liu, J., Razzak, E., Pouget, P., Spagna, A., & Bartolomeo, P. (2026). Similar eye movements in aphantasia and visualizers during mental map exploration. Cortex, 203, 48–73. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.06.010

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Reference

Aphantasia is associated with spatial memory and navigation difficulties in complex virtual environments

Visual imagery features centrally in many theories of spatial navigation, yet its contribution to wayfinding is unclear. Sea Hero Quest (SHQ), a navigation game for mobile devices that assesses spatial learning via visual maps and virtual environments, is well-suited to investigate the role of imagery in wayfinding. We examined if participants with aphantasia who report experiencing a lack of visual imagery would display greater difficulties navigating relative to controls on SHQ as demands on encoding complex visual information increase. Aphantasic participants (n=63, Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire <32) and controls (n=99, VVIQ=33-80) completed self-report measures of navigation, memory, and 8 SHQ levels varying in path complexity, destinations, and map characteristics. To estimate performance on the SHQ, trajectory length and completion time were normalised to thousands of controls (n=1203 to 246,329), comparable to each participant in terms of age and gender, and group difference and correlation analyses were conducted for self-report measures and SHQ metrics. Aphantasic participants scored significantly lower on self-report spatial and memory measures and took substantially more time than both control groups to complete high-difficulty levels, but not training or low-difficulty levels, relative to controls. Imagery ability was associated with performance on difficult levels as well as self-reported spatial ability and memory. Map viewing duration was not significantly associated with any variable. The findings indicate that visual imagery plays a central role in spatial navigation when recall of complex visual information is necessary. Wayfinding difficulties observed in the aphantasic individuals appear to be robust to alternative strategies, such as verbal encoding, which is unlikely sufficient to integrate across path length and circuitousness, decision points, and visibility factors that define environmental complexity.

Li, A., Coutrot, A., Faromika, T. I., Spiers, H. J., & Shayna Rosenbaum, R. (2026). Aphantasia is associated with spatial memory and navigation difficulties in complex virtual environments. Neuropsychologia, 109517. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109517

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Video

When Mental Images Get in the Way: How Aphantasia Reveals a Hidden Advantage in Reasoning

New research from the University of Lyon suggests that people with aphantasia may actually reason faster on certain logic problems—a finding that challenges the long-held assumption that mental imagery helps us think.

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Reference

State but not trait measures of vividness relate to memory accuracy

Trial-by-trial mental imagery vividness significantly predicts memory accuracy for both visual and spatial changes across age groups. This suggests that while imagery influences episodic memory, it is not the sole mechanism driving performance.

Duckett, W., & Simons, J. S. (2026). State but not trait measures of vividness relate to memory accuracy. Neuropsychologia, 224, 109399. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2026.109399

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Reference

Congenital aphantasia is not imagery blindsight

Researchers argue that congenital aphantasia is not "imagery blindsight" because individuals retain high-level accuracy and conscious access to information via non-visual routes. This suggests aphantasia involves a selective inability to format information into a quasi-visual experience.

Bartolomeo, P., & Arcangeli, M. (2026). Congenital aphantasia is not imagery blindsight. Cortex, 197, 112–114. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.02.009

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Discussion

Can people with Aphantasia perform item rotation/manipulation tasks?

recentlyViolet

How do you tackle mental rotation and spatial reasoning tasks without visualizing objects? Share your strategies and experiences!

Video

Pictures Without Mental Pictures: How Aphantasia Is Rewriting a 50-Year-Old Theory of Memory

New research from Wilma Bainbridge and her team at the University of Chicago reveals that people with aphantasia still remember pictures better than words—a finding that upends one of psychology's most influential theories about how memory works.

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Reference

Unsupervised clustering reveals spatial and verbal cognitive profiles in aphantasia and typical imagery

Researchers found that individuals with aphantasia scored lower across all sensory imagery modalities but performed similarly to controls on spatial and cognitive tasks. This suggests that multisensory imagery deficits do not hinder general cognitive or spatial reasoning abilities.

Delem, M., Turkben, S., Cavalli, E., Cousineau, D., & Plancher, G. (2025). Unsupervised clustering reveals spatial and verbal cognitive profiles in aphantasia and typical imagery. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109279. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109279

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Reference

Varieties of aphantasia

Aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with distinct subtypes, including variations in voluntary control and sensory modalities. Recognizing these differences is essential for developing accurate experimental methodologies and explanations.

Nanay, B. (2025). Varieties of aphantasia. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(11), 965–966. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.06.008

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Video

When Memory Feels Vivid: Why the Moment Matters More Than the Trait

For years, researchers asked how vivid people's mental images are in general. William Duckett asked a different question—and discovered something that's reshaping how we understand imagery and memory.

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Reference

Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition

Researchers propose that the mind separates physical simulation from graphical rendering, much like a game engine. This suggests aphantasia may be a case of "broken rendering" where underlying spatial and physical representations remain intact.

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

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Reference

A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!

A decade of research shows aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with varying subtypes and preserved cognitive performance. This suggests that conscious visual imagery is not required for complex tasks like memory and spatial reasoning.

Zeman, A. (2025). A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109278. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109278

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Reference

Why indecisive trials matter: Improving the binocular rivalry imagery priming score for the assessment of aphantasia

Researchers developed an improved binocular rivalry priming score that accounts for mixed trials and perceptual stability. This provides a more accurate behavioral measure for identifying aphantasia and validating self-reported imagery.

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

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Reference

Impoverished recall of sensory details along infrequently travelled routes in aphantasia

Aphantasics provided fewer sensory details when describing infrequently traveled routes compared to controls. This suggests that while spatial memory remains intact, mental imagery is necessary for retrieving rich sensory information from memory.

Li, A., Arrieta, M., Levine, B., & Rosenbaum, R. S. (2025). Impoverished recall of sensory details along infrequently travelled routes in aphantasia. Memory, 1–13. doi:10.1080/09658211.2025.2507948

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Video

The Shape of Things Unseen: Conversation with Dr. Adam Zeman On The New Science of Imagination

What if everything you thought you knew about creativity was wrong? The scientist who discovered aphantasia unveils the "new science of imagination" and explains why visualization might not be essential to human creativity.

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Reference

Non-visual spatial strategies are effective for maintaining precise information in visual working memory

Aphantasics performed as well as typical imagers on a precise visual working memory task by using non-visual spatial and sensorimotor strategies. This demonstrates that mental imagery is not required for maintaining high-fidelity visual information.

Reeder, R. R., Pounder, Z., Figueroa, A., Jüllig, A., & Azañón, E. (2024). Non-visual spatial strategies are effective for maintaining precise information in visual working memory. Cognition, 251, 105907. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2024.105907

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Article

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.

recentlyby Tom Ebeyer and

Reference

Slower but more accurate mental rotation performance in aphantasia linked to differences in cognitive strategies

People with aphantasia were slower but more accurate than controls on mental rotation tasks, favoring analytic strategies over visual ones. This suggests that aphantasics use non-visual cognitive methods to solve complex spatial problems.

Kay, L., Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2024). Slower but more accurate mental rotation performance in aphantasia linked to differences in cognitive strategies. Consciousness and Cognition, 121, 103694. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2024.103694

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Reference

Congenital lack and extraordinary ability in object and spatial imagery: An investigation on sub-types of aphantasia and hyperphantasia

Researchers identified distinct subtypes of object and spatial aphantasia, each linked to specific deficits in face recognition or navigation. This suggests that aphantasia is not a uniform condition but involves multiple neural pathways.

Palermo, L., Boccia, M., Piccardi, L., & Nori, R. (2022). Congenital lack and extraordinary ability in object and spatial imagery: an investigation on sub-types of aphantasia and hyperphantasia. Consciousness and Cognition, 103, 103360. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2022.103360

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Discussion

Which characteristics are due to aphantasia?

recentlyMick

What traits do you think stem from limited mental imagery versus natural skill differences? Join the conversation!