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 […]
Category: News
People With Aphantasia Have Significantly More Accurate Memory
An article in IFLScience covers a recent study which indicates individuals with aphantasia are significantly less likely to make mistakes when remembering things. Apparently, those with a visual imagination are significantly more likely to conjure their own ideas of what they sensed, and this is where the inaccuracies come from. More research needs to be […]
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Aphantasia Study
An interesting article on a recent study of people with aphantasia discusses the cognitive effects of having “a blind mind’s eye.” Unfortunately, the study and the article fail to mention the cognitive benefits of aphantasia. It’s understandable that researchers who do not have aphantasia would be preoccupied by the disadvantages and less aware of the […]
Phantasia
A group including professor Adam Zeman of Exeter University has published a new paper on aphantasia and hyperphantasia with some interesting results. The paper is titled Phantasia – The psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes and is based on data from 2,400 participants. Key findings: aphantasia is associated with scientific and mathematical occupations, […]
Breakthrough Study
A breakthrough study led by researchers at UNSW Sydney links the excitability of neurons in the visual cortex to a lack of visualization ability. This research indicates aphantasia might be caused by an “overactive” visual cortex as opposed to an inactive one. Additionally, the researchers were able to influence the level of image strength through […]
Aphantasia Defined
I don’t recall aphantasia being defined in the dictionary previously, but here it is now! https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/aphantasia Definition of ‘aphantasia’ aphantasiain British English (ˌæfænˈteɪzɪə) NOUN an inability to form mental images Word origin: from Greek phantazein to cause to be seen, from phainein to show We’ve made it to the mainstream ladies and gentlemen… maybe people will stop questioning if aphantasia is a real […]
CNBC Article on Aphantasia
I don’t know how I missed this, but Christina Farr at CNBC wrote an article about her experience with aphantasia about a week ago. The article includes some questions asked of Blake Ross. I also appreciate that Christina is optimistic about the condition, and she is aware of the potential benefits, which appear to be […]
Comparing Memories With and Without Aphantasia
Here is a great video of a husband (without aphantasia) and a wife who has aphantasia comparing how their memories work. Very fascinating! Check it out here.
What It’s Like Discovering You Have Aphantasia
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Student Article on Aphantasia
We found an interesting article about aphantasia that was recently published in the Daily Collegian, a student paper at Penn State. A student named Cassandra Kidwell discovered she has the condition. It’s good that additional attention is being brought to aphantasia. Bravo Cassandra! As further research and reporting takes place, we can all learn how […]