Blind Mind's Eye - The Science of Aphantasia with Dr. Adam Zeman

Are you blind in your mind's eye?

Aphantasia is a phenomenon where people lack the ability to form mental images. It was first recognized in the 19th century but lacked a name and scientific attention until 2015. The naming of aphantasia led to increased public interest and a surge of research.

Results suggest that people with aphantasia and its opposite, hyperphantasia, have distinct traits in occupation, cognition, behavior, and brain physiology. It also runs in families and is heterogenous. The naming of aphantasia and the research that followed has added to our understanding of mental imagery. However, there are still many unanswered questions about this phenomenon.

Dr. Adam Zeman shares the rediscovery of the aphantasia, a blind mind's eye, in this presentation from the 2021 Extreme Imagination Conference and Exhibition.

[Nooom]

I wonder if the implications of aphantasia in therapy have been studied. Most therapies involve visualisation and were inefficient for me. Therapists weren't even aware of the possibility of aphantasia. When talking about my past also, I felt like I didn't remember much, though everything that happened obviously played a huge role in whatever issue I had. But it was hard to point out a moment in time, a scene that had huge impact. Most of what I recall, I remember in more of a narrative form, and I don't know when or why I started telling myself that particular story. Memories of events interpreted through one's perception can be deformed, but in my case I believe it is even more so. I feel very much like an unreliable narrator of my own life, which makes it harder to make sense of my life and identity.

[zentransactions]

I have aphantasia. I always knew I couldn’t see anything but I always assumed that it was normal and it was a figure of speech when others asked me to visualize.

I realized I was different about 20 years ago however there was zero information regarding it.

I have attempted to force myself to see things all my life. I did realize that imaginary images were real when I had a vivid dream when I was about 12 years old. It was so exciting and different that I attempted my entire life to experience it again.

I do have dreams and I seem to see images in my dreams, however, once I wake up it’s very difficult to recall what I saw.

I also believe I don’t see faces in my dreams and instead see a blur where faces usually are. I know who they are but it’s not by what I see but rather how I feel.

I can’t picture my loved ones, which is a point that saddens me. Pictures are very important to me since it’s the only way I can connect with someone.

I also don’t have much of an internal dialogue. I can intentionally ask myself a question mentally but I have no dialogue, and no response. The only dialogue I have is usually the questions I purposely ask myself.

It’s very difficult for me because asking a question but receiving no response does not seem to help me and frustrates me a lot.

I also can’t recall smell or taste or sounds.

I suppose my world is very limited and boring.

I always wondered what it would be like to sense things normally.

I only have my senses in the here and now.

One thing I have not read anything about is with feelings.

I experience super super powerful feelings. When someone hurts me, I experience debilitating pain. When someone dies, I experience it very intensely. When I see violence in a movie for example, I physically feel the pain in my body and it’s sometimes excruciating.

That’s my experience. Thank you for reading

[Nicoladen]

I just found out I have aphantasia yesterday and I'm still completely blown away that people can actually see and hear things in their mind. I can't even imagine what that would be like... Pun intended.
I find that my thoughts are very abstract and as such I have always had problems articulating them well. I often cut off sentences or skip words, more so in my mental dialog, because I just think faster than I can put into words. It feels very abstract. Like a computer without a screen. Operating in the dark.
Also, you guys can just imagine things in your head?? What kind of superpower is that! No wonder I'm addicted to AI-based image generation software. It's the only way for me to visualize my ideas.
All I can do with my mind is be creative conceptually, not visually

[reavl]

I'm a physician and I only recently learned of this and that I have it. I can't believe it's not common! I always assumed it was the other way around. Interestingly I might have wrongly deducted this due to photographic memory not being common, and I have quite good memory, I've even been asked if I possess photographic memory, but I'm highly aphantasic.

[julietmcdonald]

I only discovered a few months ago, at age 71, that I have Aphantasia. Zero visuals, sound, taste, feeling, hearing.
I also have SDAM and prosopagnosia.
I find it amazing that people can visualise. I never knew they could do that until recently.
It is so good to know that I have Aphantasia, it explains so much about my life, the memory issues, unless it's a memory around a conversation. The not remembering any of my childhood. Not recognising faces. Fascinating stuff!

[horacelidenbrock]

I have recently discovered that I have aphantasia (and I scored 1 on the exercise). Surprisingly, I very much enjoy reading fiction, and I even write fiction (with vivid, imaginative descriptions) at a very proficient level (aspiring pro). I have a very good memory (including faces). I used to have superb (and visual) dream recall. I discovered that what I deemed to be visualisation was simply an understanding of an idea when I saw images for the first time in my mind. It was under the influence of psychedelics. Has anyone studied the use of psychedelics to "open the mind's eye"? Now that I know I can visualise under certain conditions, I am working hard on honing my visualisation skills. It's a shame no one is talking about ways to trigger visualisation and improve it.

[nihatquliyev]

I have aphantasia. I have been researching about it. When I talked about this with my family, it turned out that my mother and brother also have aphantasia. I don’t visualize anything at all, not even senses. My mother can only visualize the high-emotional places or events (sometimes). My brother can only visualize for a fraction of a second then the thing he visualized disappears(after a lot of effort). But my father has a vivid image that he scored 3.5/5. I was very fascinated by the fact that in the family there are 3 different degrees of aphantastic person and one who can visualize easily. I hope more reseach would be done about this case.

[SmartK]

Not being able to hear any music I want in my "mind's ear", would be devastating to me. This gives my life soundtrack I want.

[michaelrisko]

The "hunters mind" comment caught my blind inner eye. I have always been hyper aware of other people's unique body language. So much so I recognize people by their movements as well as I can by seeing a face. It has also been very unsettling not being able to picture the faces of loved ones and pets. Thank you so very much Dr. Zeman. Coining the phrase has helped so many of us begin down a path of understanding by helping us become aware.

[methos]

I have aphantasia but to add on top of that i also have autism and congenital anosmia (born without a sense of smell). Having all three of these things at the same time can make life quite difficult. I have a very hard time connecting with people because of it. My situation is so specific that nobody ever understands how i think. Or at least it feels that way.

[nickjunes]

I admit I am down a rabbit hole of aphantasia because I am the polar opposite and it's actually helping me understand how I relate to people better. I am incredibly visual and do much in my head. Now when I talk to people I try and figure out if we're thinking differently and I think it is helping me to communicate better. When I discover someone is not a visual thinker I can adjust the way I communicate. I think this science is SUPER important and I'm so happy the world is finally starting to focus on it even though it's probably been with us since the dawn of time!

[Saylorsmomsam]

This is freaking phenomenal. To me this opens up so many doors and explanations for many things. My wheels are turning. Thank you so much for this information.

[icanrelate]

I'm a reading teacher where we are mental imagery heavy and I discovered aphantasia a few years due to researching on behalf of students. I said to myself I can't ever see anything, only a select people can because of course mind's eye isn't literal. I made excuses & still in denial. I cannot see, hear inner monologue, nor smell anymore unless strong odor/scent. I'm trying to figure out if this is the reason I'm intuitive and absorb energy easily.

[barbarapostema]

I realized it was something unusual when I was studying shamanism. A big part of my practice is journeying to different realms and times with my mind. The most I ever’see’ in my minds eye may be an impression, most of the time nothing. I learned to travel in a different way. It is totally experiential as a knowing, in a very sentient way. I am immersed in the experience without seeing🤷‍♀️

[Nicoladen]

Ever since I discovered that I have aphantasia a week ago, I realized alot of things. I feel as though what we lack in the sensory department of our imagination we make up for in our ability to work with abstract concepts. And I'd even argue that with enough mental practice, those conceptual skills are able to reliably substitute for the lack of sensory imagination. I can't picture a ball rolling off the table, but I can create a conceptual stage on which a conceptual ball rolls off a conceptual surface. There's absolutely no imagery or sounds etc, but the scene itself feels very tangible. And most importantly the physics of it appear to be pretty accurate. I can come up with movie scenes or weird design ideas without being able to see them in my mind's eye. I do however use slight vocal and facial movements to accentuate the imagined scene.

Also I barely have any inner monolog. Most of the time it's just silent while abstract processes are happening in the background. Whenever I do attempt to have an inner monolog it is almost always cut off because it's just way slower than the actual thinking itself.

Would love to help with studies or research somehow!

[yulk]

Always look forward to the next video and how Lacey is doing and she never disappoints. Keep fighting, Lacey! You're a great inspiration. God bless you and your parents. Love ❤❤❤

[bobinsky]

Dr. Zeman, your work on aphantasia is fascinating and deeply relevant to me. I not only lack mental imagery, but also sounds, monologues, and any form of inner narrative. It feels like I don’t ‘think’ in the traditional sense, yet I have understanding and awareness without active thought. This unique experience has profoundly shaped how I perceive the world and process information. I’d love to share my condition with you, as I believe it could provide valuable insight into your research. Is there a way I could contact you to discuss this further?

[annabaazy]

It's so so sad. I'm 37 and just realized I have aphantasia, thanks to some short video on Instagram. It devastated me. It's like not having the most beautiful superpower in the world, except that almost everyone has it.

[SmutGrrl]

I really appreciated this video (as someone who creates hypnosis audios). It inspired me to deep dive into learning about Aphantasia, and then I created a audio all around giving a person the sense of flying, that is aphantasia friendly (leaning in on motor imagery). I referenced this very video in the educational one I made about Aphantasia and my thoughts on how it relates to Hypnosis/meditation. Thank you Dr Zeman for your great work, and the Aphantasia Network...apparently this resonates with a LOT of people. I really love learning about the human mind and body, so this was right up my alley 🥰💖

[ophiecat]

I found out I have aphantasia last week when my child found out they had it. I am so sad that reading will never be as exciting as it is for others. I love to read. I am still in shock and feel a great deal of loss. Which is weird because how can you miss what you never had.