Spatial imagery is a sub-type of mental imagery and refers to the ability to manipulate and locate objects in space. While people with aphantasia may have difficulty with visualizing objects, they seem to have higher spatial accuracy. Resources available for further reading.
Spatial imagery is a sub-type of mental imagery and refers to the ability to manipulate and locate objects in space. While people with aphantasia may have difficulty with visualizing objects, they seem to have higher spatial accuracy. Resources available for further reading.
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
Researchers found that trial-by-trial vividness predicts memory accuracy, but trait-level measures like the VVIQ do not. This suggests that moment-to-moment imagery fluctuations are more vital for memory than general imagery ability.
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
Aphantasia differs from blindsight because individuals retain conscious access to visual information via non-visual routes. This suggests the condition is a selective inability to format knowledge into quasi-visual experiences.
Bartolomeo, P., & Arcangeli, M. (2026). Congenital aphantasia is not imagery blindsight. Cortex, 197, 112–114. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.02.009
Researchers identified two aphantasia subgroups: "spatialisers" with high spatial imagery and "verbalisers" with high verbal reliance. This shows aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition that requires a multidimensional cognitive framework.
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
Aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with distinct subtypes involving voluntary imagery, sensory modalities, and spatial versus object details. This diversity suggests that monolithic definitions hinder accurate diagnosis and research.
Nanay, B. (2025). Varieties of aphantasia. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(11), 965–966. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.06.008
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
A decade of research shows aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with five dimensions of variation, including sensory reach and spatial imagery. This suggests it is a diverse spectrum of abstract rather than experiential cognitive styles.
Zeman, A. (2025). A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109278. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109278
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
You've reached the end of content in the spatial imagery topic.
Everything you wish someone had told you about having aphantasia. Understand why you think differently, find your strengths, and learn the strategies built for your brain — not someone else's.
Talk to counselors, coaches, and educators who already understand aphantasia — so you don't have to start by explaining what it is.
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
Researchers found that trial-by-trial vividness predicts memory accuracy, but trait-level measures like the VVIQ do not. This suggests that moment-to-moment imagery fluctuations are more vital for memory than general imagery ability.
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
Aphantasia differs from blindsight because individuals retain conscious access to visual information via non-visual routes. This suggests the condition is a selective inability to format knowledge into quasi-visual experiences.
Bartolomeo, P., & Arcangeli, M. (2026). Congenital aphantasia is not imagery blindsight. Cortex, 197, 112–114. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2026.02.009
Researchers identified two aphantasia subgroups: "spatialisers" with high spatial imagery and "verbalisers" with high verbal reliance. This shows aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition that requires a multidimensional cognitive framework.
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
Aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with distinct subtypes involving voluntary imagery, sensory modalities, and spatial versus object details. This diversity suggests that monolithic definitions hinder accurate diagnosis and research.
Nanay, B. (2025). Varieties of aphantasia. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 29(11), 965–966. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2025.06.008
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
A decade of research shows aphantasia is a heterogeneous condition with five dimensions of variation, including sensory reach and spatial imagery. This suggests it is a diverse spectrum of abstract rather than experiential cognitive styles.
Zeman, A. (2025). A decade of aphantasia research – and still going!. Neuropsychologia, 219, 109278. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109278
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
You've reached the end of content in the spatial imagery topic.
Everything you wish someone had told you about having aphantasia. Understand why you think differently, find your strengths, and learn the strategies built for your brain — not someone else's.
Talk to counselors, coaches, and educators who already understand aphantasia — so you don't have to start by explaining what it is.
