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Dynamics of mental imagery.

Ishan Singhal, Nisheeth Srivastava

Consciousness and Cognition May 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2025.103865 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Peer reviewed
Sample size 827
Population Large cohort of participants
Topics Philosophy of mind
Keywords Mental imagery Temporal dynamics Time-consciousness
Citations 4
Key findings Temporal features of imagination unfold at distinct timescales, accounted for by two factors (temporal ability and stability), and imagined contents are sluggish but more stable than perception, with both sharing a common constraint of identically sized temporal windows of conscious experience.

Abstract

Phenomenology of mental imagery can reveal the structure of underlying mental representations, yet progress has been limited because of its private nature. Through a phenomenology-recreation task we elucidate the dynamics of mental imagery. Specifically, the temporal grain, speed of object manipulation, smoothness of contents unfolding, and temporal extent of stability of imagined contents. To gauge these properties, we asked a large cohort of participants (N = 827) to recreate these aspects of their imagination in six tasks. Results showed that temporal features of imagination unfold at distinct timescales, though a factor analysis showed that variance in these tasks could be accounted for via two factors; temporal ability and stability of mental imagery. Additionally, we contrast these regularities with those documented for visual perception, showing that imagined contents are sluggish but more stable than perception. However, both imagination and perception share a common constraint; maintaining identically sized temporal windows of conscious experience.

Comparable studies

Other observational and cohort studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences 1980 Retrospective study n = 78
Visual Phenomenology of the LSD Flashback Persons with a history of LSD use 1983 Observational cohort n = 123
The neurophenomenology of neutral hypnosis. Individuals of high, medium, and low hypnotizability 2013 Observational cohort n = 37
The Phenomenology of Acute Organic Psychosis Patients with acute organic psychosis and acute schizophrenics 1987 Observational cohort n = 148
EEG oscillatory states as neuro-phenomenology of consciousness as revealed from patients in vegetative and minimally conscious states. Brain-damaged patients with disorders of consciousness and healthy-conscious subjects 2012 Observational cohort

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Cites 4

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