Finally putting to rest those few people who still believe that aphatansia is not a real condition, or that it’s only a matter of semantics, scientists have discovered a method of physically testing for aphantasia by monitoring pupil dilation.
Subjects who reported less visualization ability did not experience pupil dilation when “recalling” bright and dark images that were provided to them – confirming that aphantasia is as real as any other physical or mental characteristic.
“We are now close to an objective physiological test, like a blood test, to see if someone truly has it.”
– lead author of the study, psychologist Joel Pearson from UNSW Sydney.
Those of us with aphantasia aren’t the least bit surprised by these results, but thankfully now we can point to this study to bury the naysayers once and for all. You can read the article for yourself right here: