History of research into ``aphantasia,'' where you can't visualize images in your head, and ``hyperphantasia,'' where you can instantly visualize vivid images.
When you close your eyes and imagine the face of a familiar person or the cute appearance of your favorite animal, there are individual differences in how clearly you can picture the image in your head. Approximately 2-5% of the population is said to be in a state called `
Can't See Pictures in Your Mind? You're Not Alone. - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/science/minds-eye-mental-pictures-psychology.html
A joint study published by the University of Exeter, Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh found that while most people can easily picture landscapes and creatures in their heads, some people It has been shown that patients may not be able to visualize their own imaginations and images. Research calls this condition 'aphantasia.'
What is 'Aphantasia', where you can't imagine people or scenery in your head? -GIGAZINE
The symptoms of aphantasia itself were first described in a statistical study conducted in 1880 on the images created in the brain (mental images) by imagining objects and scenery, but for a long time it remained largely unexplored. It was left as is. Professor Adam Zeman, who studies neurology at the University of Exeter, began his research on mental imagery in 2005 after examining a patient who had lost the ability to visualize images as a result of a minor surgical procedure. did. Professor Zeman and his colleagues call people who do not have mental images 'aphantasias,' and over the decades since their first patient, they have interviewed more than 12,000 people who claim to have aphantasias. Ta. Professor Zeman and his colleagues believe that there are tens of millions of people with aphantasia around the world, and that millions of people have the ability to draw extremely strong mental images, called 'hyperphantasia,' which is the opposite of aphantasia. We estimate that there are.
The first patient Dr. Zeman noticed with aphantasia was Mr. MX, a retired architectural surveyor who said he lost his mental imagery after a minor heart surgery. Although Mr. MX could not see people or objects in his imagination, examination revealed that Mr. MX's visual memory was intact. Mr. MX was also able to answer factual questions such as 'Does Tony Blair, the 73rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, have bright colored eyes?' It seems that he was able to answer questions that made him spin the words in his head.
Mr. Zimmer learned of Professor Zeman's research in 2010 and submitted a column to the scientific magazine ``
As a result of the increased attention, Professor Zeman received many calls from people complaining of symptoms of aphantasia, but at the same time, he also received many calls from people with the exact opposite condition. In contrast to aphantasia, which is the inability to visualize mental images, Professor Zeman's research team has named the state of being able to quickly visualize clear, vivid images ``hyperphantasia.''
Joel Pearson, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of New South Wales who has been researching mental imagery since 2005, says, ``Hyperphantasia has abilities that go beyond just being ``highly imaginative.'' I'm pointing it out. Mr. Pearson describes the ability of hyperphantasia: ``It's like when you have a very vivid dream and you don't know if it's real or not. There are more than a certain number of people who can connect the two.'
Thomas Ebayer, one of the first 21 people surveyed by Professor Zeman, has created a website called the Aphantasia Network , which connects people who have experienced the symptoms of aphantasia with researchers. did. On the site, you can take online psychological surveys, read articles about aphantasia, and participate in various forums. By September 2023, more than 150,000 people have completed the survey, and more than 20,000 have recorded scores suggestive of aphantasia.
Evayer's research also revealed that aphantasia extends beyond visual images to other senses. Mr. Evayer himself seems unable to play music in his head when asked to 'imagine your favorite song.' Some visitors to Evayer's site said, ``I experience visual aphantasia, but I can imagine the music,'' while others said, ``I can't imagine the music, but I can't imagine it.'' Some people say, ``I can see the visual image well.''
``Surveys like Evayer's are useful, but because they rely on volunteer scores, they only provide broad, subjective observations,'' Pearson said, adding that it is important to understand that aphantasia does not rely solely on surveys. We are developing methods to study hyperphantasia and hyperphantasia. Researchers at the University of New South Wales, including Mr. Pearson, have focused on the fact that the pupil constricts and dilates when humans are perceiving an object, and believe that imaginative skills correspond to this pupillary reaction. We conducted an experiment based on a hypothesis. As a result, during the task of ``imagining the shape they had just seen,'' the group who reported having general visual imagination showed a response in which their pupils dilated according to their imagination, but their awareness of aphantasia decreased. One group showed no obvious changes in their pupils. The paper therefore concludes that 'cognitive load influences pupil size.'
Research results show that people with ``Aphantasia'' who are unable to visualize images in their heads can tell by looking at their eyes - GIGAZINE
In another experiment, Professor Pearson took advantage of the fact that ``when people watch scary scenes, their skin becomes more conductive'' and monitored the skin of volunteers as they read scary stories displayed on a screen in front of them. While most people experienced rapid increases in the level of electrical currents flowing through their skin when they read scary stories, the aphantasia people's electrical currents did not change. Based on the results of this experiment, the research team concluded, ``People with aphantasia tend to feel less fear when they read scary stories in text. 'I feel scared,' he concluded.
New survey results of people called ``Aphantasia'' who do not feel scared by ghost stories - GIGAZINE
In their latest research, Dr. Zeman and colleagues are gleaning clues about how aphantasia and hyperphantasia may be caused by changes in the brain's wiring that connects visual centers with other areas. We have also begun research to explore how this brain circuit evokes sensations such as sound as mental images. 'Eventually, it may also be possible to enhance mental images with magnetic pulses,' Zimmer points out.
Researchers are also using brain scans to discover the circuits that cause aphantasia and hyperphantasia. In a study published in May 2023, Professor Zeman's research team scanned the brains of 24 people with aphantasia, 25 with hyperphantasia, and 20 with neither. The study found that people with hyperphantasia had increased activity in a region that connects the front and back of the brain; It is speculated that it is possible to send a signal.
Regarding the symptoms of aphantasia, Professor Zeman said, ``As far as I can see, aphantasia is an interesting variation in the human experience, not a disorder.'' Dr. Zeman's research shows that people with aphantasia are more likely than average to find jobs related to science or mathematics. In addition, former Pixar president Ed Catmull announced in 2019 that he has aphantasia, and Zimmer said, ``Even if you have aphantasia, it doesn't mean you can't come up with creative ideas.'' says Mr.
Mr. Zimmer also said, ``We tend to think that people with aphantasia have inferior abilities and people with hyperphantasia have superior abilities, but this is not necessarily the case.People with hyperphantasia imagine too vivid images. Because of this, people with aphantasia may be more likely to mistake false memories for actual events and experience traumatic experiences.On the other hand, people with aphantasia may be able to visually reenact past experiences. 'They are thought to be resistant to trauma because they do not.' Similarly, Professor Zeman says, ``Sometimes people with aphantasia are said to be really good at moving forward, because they don't stop because they're haunted by images that many of us conjure up and have regrets or longings for.'' I think it's because I don't have much to put away.'
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