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Cited by 74Visual perception and processing mechanismsPhilosophy and Theoretical ScienceMemory Processes and Influences

Probing the unimaginable: The impact of aphantasia on distinct domains of visual mental imagery and visual perception

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Liu, Jianghao, Bartolomeo, Paolo·2023·Cortex
DOI 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.06.003
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Abstract

Different individuals experience varying degrees of vividness in their visual mental images. The distribution of these variations across different imagery domains, such as object shape, color, written words, faces, and spatial relationships, remains unknown. To address this issue, we conducted a study with 117 healthy participants who reported different levels of imagery vividness. Of these participants, 44 reported experiencing absent or nearly absent visual imagery, a condition known as "aphantasia". These individuals were compared to those with typical (N = 42) or unusually vivid (N = 31) imagery ability. We used an online version of the French-language Battérie Imagination-Perception (eBIP), which consists of tasks tapping each of the above-mentioned domains, both in visual imagery and in visual perception. We recorded the accuracy and response times (RTs) of participants' responses. Aphantasic participants reached similar levels of accuracy on all tasks compared to the other groups (Bayesian repeated measures ANOVA, BF = .02). However, their RTs were slower in both imagery and perceptual tasks (BF = 266), and they had lower confidence in their responses on perceptual tasks (BF = 7.78e5). A Bayesian regression analysis revealed that there was an inverse correlation between subjective vividness and RTs for the entire participant group: higher levels of vividness were associated with faster RTs. The pattern was similar in all the explored domains. The findings suggest that individuals with congenital aphantasia experience a slowing in processing visual information in both imagery and perception, but the precision of their processing remains unaffected. The observed performance pattern lends support to the hypotheses that congenital aphantasia is primarily a deficit of phenomenal consciousness, or that it employs alternative strategies other than visualization to access preserved visual information.

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  • Several studies have suggested that people with aphantasia process visual tasks more slowly than people with normal imagery.

    “Several studies have suggested that people with aphantasia process visual tasks more slowly than people with normal imagery [64–67”

    From Aphantasia and hyperphantasia: exploring imagery vividness extremes (2024) · cites this paper as [66]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Liu, J., & Bartolomeo, P.
Affiliations
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
Corresponding author
Liu, Jianghao
ORCID
Venue
Cortex
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2023-09
Volume
166
Pages
338-347
ISSN
0010-9452
DOI
10.1016/j.cortex.2023.06.003
OpenAlex
W4383198291
Cited by
74
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 28 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 4
Type
posted content
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Cortex (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
  • PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10-IAIHU06, 10-IAIHU-06, ANR-16, FR-AVC-017, ANR-16-CE37-0005, ANR-10, ANR-10-IAHU-0006)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Keywords
aphantasia, visual imagery, imagery vividness, visual perception, reaction time (psychology), response confidence, phenomenal consciousness, color imagery, face perception, spatial relations, processing speed
MeSH terms
Bayes Theorem, Consciousness, Humans, Imagination, Visual Perception, Imagery, Psychotherapy

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