What is Aphantasia?

Think of a horse.

Does an image of a horse come to mind?

Most people, when asked to think of a horse, create a mental image in their mind; they create a visual representation of what the horse looks like, what it’s doing and the scenery around it.

For people with aphantasia, this is impossible.

People with aphantasia cannot create images of familiar objects, people or places in their ‘mind’s eye.’

Because they don’t have one.

It’s not just the visual experience that is impacted, it’s all sensory experience.

Can you hear the horse neigh? Perhaps smell the hay?

Aphantasia is the inability to visualize in the mind’s eye, hear sound in the mind’s ear, or imagine any other sensory experience outside the present moment.

An estimated 2% of the population lack this ability completely, yet this variation in human experience has only just begun to be researched.

Imagine that? Well, aphantasics can’t. Literally.

Not having a mind’s eye forces you to see the world differently, resulting in alternative modes of thinking

New Scientist

It’s hard to imagine what it’s like not to imagine

The existence of aphantasics, people with no mind’s eye, has been known for more than a century. In 1880, psychologist Francis Galton conducted an experiment where participants were asked to imagine themselves sitting at their breakfast table and to rate the illumination, definition and colouring of the table and the objects on it. Some found it easy to imagine. But a few individuals drew a total blank.

This phenomenon remained largely unexamined until 2003, when cognitive and behavioural neurologist Adam Zeman received a patient who reported losing his ability to visualize in the mind after undergoing heart surgery. This event was followed by years of scientific study, and in 2015, it was scientifically recognized as Aphantasia.

Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire

How vivid is your imagination? The vividness of visual imagery questionnaire (VVIQ) is a proven psychometric measurement often used by scientists and researchers studying aphantasia. Think you might be aphantasic?

Imagine you’re on a beach. Picture the sun shining, feel the warmth. Now, what do you see in your mind?

Perhaps you can see the clear blue of the ocean water, hear the calm of the waves crashing against the shoreline and feel the warmth of the sand beneath your toes, or maybe there is no sensory experience at all.

The research shows that while the ability to imagine sensory experiences in the mind varies widely among individuals – some are very poor visualizers while others are extraordinarily good visualizers – people with aphanastia can’t produce sensory imagery at all.

This inability to produce mental (visual), auditory (sound), olfactory (smell) and other sensory imagery may be because of differences in how the brain of an aphantasic stores and processes information. Still, more research is needed to gain a better understanding of the condition.

An ongoing study on the neural basis of sensory imagery and imagination is being conducted at the University of Exeter in England. It is being led by neurologist Adam Zeman. He and others across the globe; most notably Professor Joel Pearson from UNSW in Sydney, Australia continue to explore its neurological underpinnings.