Key takeaways:
Aphantasia is the inability to visualize images, such as memories of past personal experiences.
While common, aphantasia was only recently given a name by scientists, and research about the phenomena is in its infancy.
Although the cause of aphantasia is unclear, it is likely rooted in altered brain function.
Imagine a scene from your last vacation. Can you visualize it? Try to see the brilliant pinks and oranges of the sun setting over the ocean. Bring up a picture of the distant snow-capped peaks and blue sky as you look out from a viewpoint in the west. If you had aphantasia, you wouldn’t have that ability. This may sound hard to believe, but for 2% to 4% of the population, it’s their normal experience.
What is aphantasia?
People with aphantasia are unable to form mental pictures in the mind’s eye. They are also not able to visualize images of past experiences. How vividly people visualize images varies greatly between individuals.
How well people are able to visualize in their mind lies on a broad spectrum of human experience. Aphantasia lies on one end. At the opposite end is hyperphantasia, an extremely vivid visual imagination. This can sometimes make something imagined feel real. Hyperphantasia can be enjoyable and enhance creativity. Or, it can be stressful, as experienced by people with post-traumatic stress disorder with intense flashbacks. Hypophantasia is close to aphantasia on the spectrum. This term refers to a reduced, but not absent, ability to bring visual images to mind.
The term was first proposed in 2015. However, it has been known for over a century that people can have differences in their ability to visualize in their minds. Plus, it is surprisingly common: between 2% and 4% of the population has it.
What aphantasia is not
Increased research and media attention over the last years have fueled interest in this condition. People want to know: if I have aphantasia, what does it mean for me? Will I struggle to function well in certain areas of my life?
Aphantasia is fascinating, but, fortunately, it is not something to worry too much about.
Aphantasia is not a mental disorder.
Aphantasia is an inability to visualize things in one’s mind.
Aphantasia is not an impairment in functioning.
People with aphantasia have normal relationships and careers and live satisfying lives.
They can perform well on most cognitive tasks — and, in some cases, even better than others.
Aphantasia is not an impairment in creativity.
People with aphantasia often choose careers in mathematics and computer science. But they can become artists, too, sometimes choosing to depict real objects rather than imagined ones.
Aphantasia is not a memory impairment.
Although memory may be weaker, using nonvisual strategies to learn and remember can help.
Aphantasia is not a visual impairment.
People with aphantasia can see things just fine in real life.
Aphantasia is not an impairment in spatial imagery.
People with aphantasia can still represent the size, location, and position of objects relative to each other in their minds.
Aphantasia is not facial recognition difficulty (prosopagnosia).
Research shows there might be a weak connection between aphantasia and prosopagnosia. But most people with aphantasia do not have that problem.
Aphantasia does not necessarily imply difficulty in relationships with others.
Many people with aphantasia report they can empathize with others and lead fulfilling personal lives.
Aphantasia is not an inability to call up recollections of movement, sound, or smell.
Most people with aphantasia are still able to imagine a tune, or recall a sensation or taste.
Aphantasia symptoms
Aphantasia is a term that describes a single symptom: the inability to draw up visual images from memory or imagination.
This may affect some people with aphantasia in certain ways but not in all people. For example, some people are more likely to have difficulty remembering personal events and recognizing faces. Others may not be able to easily imagine the future. Finally, some people may have weaker physiologic stress responses to imagined frightening scenarios.
Do people with aphantasia dream?
People with aphantasia still dream, and some even see images during dreaming. However, visual imagery tends to be less vivid and less frequent.
How do I know if I have aphantasia?
Remember aphantasia is not a disorder, so it is not “diagnosed.” Researchers commonly use a validated questionnaire to rate the vividness of people’s visualizations. This questionnaire can be completed online. You will be asked to rate the vividness of the images you see in your mind in response to various prompts.
WHAT TO READ NEXT
Is aphantasia associated with psychiatric conditions?
The word “aphantasia” was only recently coined in 2015. Therefore, the condition is understudied. There is some evidence that it might be linked to some mental health disorders. For example, depressed mood and depersonalization can dampen imagery vividness. People with aphantasia may be more likely than people without it to have autistic traits. However, it is unknown whether people with autism experience more aphantasia. How aphantasia and attention-deficit hyperactivity, psychotic, and mood disorders relate is unknown.
What causes aphantasia?
People with aphantasia seem to have different brain signaling and activity in certain regions of the brain. Why this happens in some people and not others is not clear. Some people can be born with aphantasia. It’s possible there may be a genetic link, but much more research is needed to confirm this.
Some people can also develop aphantasia later in life. This might occur after suffering an injury to their brain, like a stroke or trauma.
Is aphantasia real?
A handful of skeptics argue that aphantasia is not real. Aphantasia is identified with a questionnaire rather than an objective test. Because of this, some people are skeptical. They claim that aphantasia could be a psychogenic disorder, or “all in the mind.”
However, many others are convinced that aphantasia is a real thing, rooted in real neurobiological changes. Aphantasia researchers also argue that since aphantasia is not linked with mental disorders, it is unlikely to be psychogenic. Finally, other more established brain disorders (like prosopagnosia) don’t have objective tests, either.
Is there a cure for aphantasia?
No cure has yet been discovered. One study showed a modest increase in a patient’s ability to visualize after 18 focused therapy sessions, and this is now an area of ongoing study.
The bottom line
Although it's difficult to imagine what it's like to have a hard time making visual images, aphantasia is actually quite common. People who have it tend to function normally and are able to live full lives. Researchers are still working to find the brain regions involved and how to help people who have it. How it affects memory, cognition, and dreaming is another fascinating area of study.
References
Clemens, A. (2018). When the mind’s eye is blind. Scientific American.
Dance, C. J., et al. (2021). What is the relationship between aphantasia, synaesthesia and autism? Consciousness and Cognition.
View All References (14)
expand_more
Dance, C. J., et al. (2022). The prevalence of aphantasia (imagery weakness) in the general population. Consciousness and Cognition.
Dawes, A.J., et al. (2020). A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia. Scientific Reports.
De Vito, S., et al. (2016). Refusing to imagine? On the possibility of psychogenic aphantasia. A commentary on Zeman et al. (2015). Cortex.
Maddox, L. (2019). Aphantasia: What it’s like to live with no mind’s eye. Science Focus.
McKelvie, S. (1995). The VVIQ as a psychometric test of individual differences in visual imagery vividness: A critical quantitative review and plea for direction. Psychology.
Milton F., et al. (2021). Behavioral and neural signatures of visual imagery vividness extremes: Aphantasia versus hyperphantasia. Cerebral Cortex Communications.
Pearson, J. (2019). The human imagination: The cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
Pounder, Z. (2021). Aphantasia explained: Some people can’t form mental pictures. The Conversation.
Shank, A. et al. (2017). Treatment of aphantasia: Can we reopen the “mind’s eye?” American Academy of Optometry.
Thorudottir, S., et al. (2020). The architect who lost the ability to imagine: The cerebral basis of visual imagery. Brain Sciences.
Wicken, M., et al. (2021). The critical role of mental imagery in human emotion: Insights from fear-based imagery and aphantasia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Zeman, A. (2015). Reflections on aphantasia. Cortex.
Zeman, A., et al. (2015). Lives without imagery - Congenital aphantasia. Cortex.
Zeman, A., et al. (2020). Phantasia–the psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes. Cortex.
GoodRx Health has strict sourcing policies and relies on primary sources such as medical organizations, governmental agencies, academic institutions, and peer-reviewed scientific journals. Learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate, thorough, and unbiased by reading our editorial guidelines.
Was this page helpful?
Subscribe and save.
Get prescription saving tips and more from GoodRx Health. Enter your email to sign up.
By signing up, I agree to GoodRx's Terms and Privacy Policy, and to receive marketing messages from GoodRx.
