1% of the population experience aphantasia, or mind-blindness, which is an inability to visualize concepts or thoughts in their imagination. Researchers investigate this phenomenon and offer explanations as to how this may occur.
Researchers identified a novel brain network that includes the fronto-parietal networks and fusiform gyrus which helps with the encoding of visual mental imagery.
People who experience visual imagination have pupillary responses that optimize the amount of light hitting the retina and change in response to imagined items. This pupillary response does not occur in those with aphantasia.
Pseudo-Hallucinations: Why Some People See More Vivid Mental Images Than Others – Test Yourself Here
Study reveals people who experience intense visual imagery during a Ganzflicker test have naturally lower frequency rhythms in the visual cortex, making them more susceptible to pseudo-hallucinations.
Aphantasia is marked by the inability to generate visual images in the mind's eye. Researchers explore the neurobiological basis for the disorder.
People with hyperphantasia, the ability to visualize vividly, have stronger connections between their visual brain network and decision-making networks. By contrast, those with aphantasia, an inability to visualize, have weaker connections between the brain regions.
Humans use the primary visual cortex to process sounds in the dark. This not only occurs in those with sight but also those who were born blind.
Researchers report on why some people experience aphantasia, the inability to imagine in images.