There is a medical condition that has long been one of the most fascinating mysteries: it is called Aphantasia, and until recently it was thought that people affected by it could not generate mental images. New research is overturning this belief: their brains do create images, but these remain hidden from consciousness. How does it work?
Afantasia, for those who don't know it
Aphantasia is a neurological condition that prevents people from voluntarily visualizing images in their mind. If you ask someone to imagine a beach, most people will see waves, sand, and palm trees in their “mind’s eye.”
Those with aphantasia, on the other hand, are unable to create these visual representations, even if they perfectly understand the concept of a beach. It's like having a mental projector turned off: the film is there, but the screen remains black.
The research that changes everything
An international team of scientists, including researchers from theUNSW Sydney and South China Normal University, used sophisticated magnetic resonance imaging techniques to study neural processes in people with aphantasia. The results, published in the journal Current Biology (I link them to you here), are revolutionizing the understanding of this condition.
People with aphantasia do appear to have mental images, but these remain too faint or distorted to become conscious or to be measured with our standard measurement techniques.
The role of the visual cortex
The most surprising discovery concerns the primary visual cortex, the area of the brain responsible for processing visual information. When people with aphantasia try to visualize a mental image, this region is activated, just as it is in people without aphantasia. The difference is that These activations do not reach the threshold of awareness.
What are the implications of this research?? According to the Professor Joel Pearson, co-author of the study at the UNSW School of Psychology, this finding has implications beyond understanding aphantasia. It challenges the existing theory that activity in the primary visual cortex directly produces conscious visual imagery, suggesting a crucial breakthrough: The process of mental visualization is more complex than previously thought.
Aphantasia, the new perspectives
This research not only deepens our understanding of the brain, but also pushes the boundaries of how we think about imagination and consciousness. The fact that the brain can process images without them reaching awareness raises new questions about how the human mind works and the very nature of visual consciousness.
There may be ways to help people with aphantasia “unlock” these hidden mental images. Better understanding how the brain processes and makes mental images conscious could lead to significant developments in neurology and cognitive psychology.