Nearly 10 years ago, Professor Adam Zeman discovered that people were unable to visualize images – such as their children’s faces – in their heads. He takes stock of this particularity called “aphantasia”.
- The inability to visualize an image in one’s mind is called aphantasia. This term was created by Professor Adam Zeman of the University of Exeter in 2015.
- His new study shows that people affected by aphantasia are less likely to remember details of important past personal events or recognize faces.
- Aphantasia is estimated to affect between 1% and 5% of the population.
When you are asked to imagine a sandy beach, your house or your children, nothing comes to mind… Do you even have difficulty understanding this instruction? You may be affected by aphantasia. This is the inability to create mental images in your head. This disorder was brought to light by Professor Adam Zeman of the University of Exeter in 2015.
Almost 10 years after its first publication, the British expert reviewed around fifty recent studies on aphantasia to summarize the knowledge acquired over the last few years. His meta-analysis appeared in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences on March 24, 2024.
Aphantasia: between 1% and 5% of the population concerned
Aphantasia affects approximately 1% of the population. This rate can rise to approximately 5% if we apply “more generous inclusion criteria”, according to the specialist. His study shows that those people who cannot visualize an image in their minds are also less likely to remember details of important past personal events or recognize faces. The visual sphere is not the only one affected. Creating other types of images, such as imagining music, can also be difficult for them.
Interviewed during this work, aphantasic Mary Wathen confided that, for example, she had difficulty playing role-playing games with her children because of her inability to imagine objects that are not present. She also has difficulty remembering facts or figures or even visualizing her loved ones when she thinks of them. “I found it quite sad to learn that other people can conjure up images of their children when they’re not around. I would love to be able to do that, but I just can’t – but I have learned to compensate by taking lots of photos, so that I could relive those memories through those images.”
Among the other elements discovered about this particularity by researchers, individuals affected by aphantasia are more likely to exercise a scientific profession. “Research indicates that aphantasia is not a single entity, but has subtypes. For example, not all people with aphantasia have poor autobiographical memory or difficulty recognizing faces, and in a minority of people, aphantasia appears to be linked to autism”adds Professor Zeman in a communicated.
Aphantasia: what are the possible causes?
According to the data collected, aphantasia is often hereditary, and could therefore have a genetic basis. “Professor Zeman’s analysis demonstrates that whether individuals suffer from aphantasia or hyperphantasia – a particularly vivid, visual imagination – is linked to variations in their physiology and neuronal connectivity in the brain, as well as to their behaviour”indicates the study.
“Despite the profound contrast in subjective experience between aphantasia and hyperphantasia, the effects on daily functioning are subtle: lack of imagery does not imply a lack of imagination. Indeed, the consensus among Researchers are that neither aphantasia nor hyperphantasia constitute a disorder. They are variations of the human experience with roughly balanced benefits and harms.”specifies the expert in the field.
An opinion shared by Mary Wathen. She would also like better consideration of this particularity. “I think it’s really important to raise awareness that some people just don’t have that ability (to visualize) – especially as using visual imagination is a key way to teach young people children to learn and engage. Primary school teachers need to know that some children simply are not able to visualize and that may be why they do not engage in these kinds of activities . We must ensure that we meet the needs of everyone and encourage alternative ways of learning and engaging.”adds the woman who is unable to visualize an image.
