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Cited by 142Visual perception and processing mechanismsHallucinations in medical conditionsMemory Processes and Influences

The pupillary light response as a physiological index of aphantasia, sensory and phenomenological imagery strength

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Kay, Lachlan, Keogh, Rebecca, Andrillon, Thomas, Pearson, Joel·2022·eLife
DOI 10.7554/elife.72484PMC PMC9018072

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Abstract

The pupillary light response is an important automatic physiological response which optimizes light reaching the retina. Recent work has shown that the pupil also adjusts in response to illusory brightness and a range of cognitive functions, however, it remains unclear what exactly drives these endogenous changes. Here, we show that the imagery pupillary light response correlates with objective measures of sensory imagery strength. Further, the trial-by-trial phenomenological vividness of visual imagery is tracked by the imagery pupillary light response. We also demonstrated that a group of individuals without visual imagery (aphantasia) do not show any significant evidence of an imagery pupillary light response, however they do show perceptual pupil light responses and pupil dilation with larger cognitive load. Our results provide evidence that the pupillary light response indexes the sensory strength of visual imagery. This work also provides the first physiological validation of aphantasia.

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  • People with aphantasia did not show evidence of an imagery-driven pupillary response, despite normal responses to real light and cognitive load.

    “By contrast, people with aphantasia did not show evidence of an imagery-driven pupillary response, despite normal responses to (real) light and cognitive load.”

    From Aphantasia and hyperphantasia: exploring imagery vividness extremes (2024) · cites this paper as [43]

  • Three sets of objective correlates with subjective reports of aphantasia have emerged in recent work.

    “Three sets of objective correlates with subjective reports of aphantasia have emerged in recent work”

    From Aphantasia and hyperphantasia: exploring imagery vividness extremes (2024) · cites this paper as [43]

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kay, L., Keogh, R., Andrillon, T., & Pearson, J.
Affiliations
  • UNSW Sydney (AU)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
Corresponding author
Keogh, Rebecca
ORCID
Venue
eLife
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Published
2022-03-31
Volume
11
ISSN
2050-084X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.7554/elife.72484
PMC
PMC9018072
OpenAlex
W4220808276
Cited by
142
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 8
FWCI
13.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • eLife (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1024800, APP1046198, APP1085404, APP1049596)
  • Australian Research Council (DP140101560)
  • Human Frontier Science Program (LT000362/2018-L)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hallucinations in medical conditions
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Keywords
pupillary light reflex, aphantasia, visual imagery, pupil dilation, cognitive load
MeSH terms
Cognition, Humans, Imagination, Pupil, Visual Perception, Imagery, Psychotherapy

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