Aphantasia

From BurnZero
Aphantasia
Figure 1. A quick and easy test to see if you have aphantasia.

Aphantasia is a condition characterized by the inability to generate on-demand visual mental images. First described by Francis Galton in 1880, it remained unstudied until 2015 when Professor Adam Zeman's team coined the term.

Prevelenace

People often don't realize they are aphantasic until they try psychedelics where they are supposed to see imagery which is often absent. One study estimates taht around 0.8% of the population is unable to form visual mental images, and 3.9% of the population are either unable to form mental images or have dim or vague mental imagery[1].

References

  1. The prevalence of aphantasia (imagery weakness) in the general population. Journal of Consciousness and Cognition. 97: 103243. Dance CJ, Ipser A, Simner J (January 2022). doi:10.1016/j.concog.2021.103243. PMID 34872033. S2CID 244837117.

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