Imagery agnosia and its phenomenology

Aphantasia, the lack of vivid sensory imagery, and hyperphantasia, extremely vivid imagery, represent opposite ends of a spectrum of individual differences. This paper argues that the phenomenon extends beyond visual imagery and should be categorized as imagery sensory agnosia. After over twenty years of learning to play music, the phenomenology of auditory imagery agnosia is described from a first-person perspective. Reflections on other forms of imagery agnosia and deficits of autobiographical memories are presented, along with a hypothesis about putative brain processes that may account for such phenomena. Extreme individual differences in imagery and autobiographical memory have implications for fields from consciousness research to education.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Lack of vivid sensory imagery has recently become an active subject of research, under the name of aphantasia. Extremely vivid imagery, or hyperphantasia, is at the other end of the spectrum of individual differences. While most research has focused on visual imagery in this paper I argue that from a neuropsychological perspective this phenomenon is much more widespread, and should be categorized as imagery sensory agnosia. After over twenty years of learning to play music phenomenology of auditory imagery agnosia is described from the first-person perspective. Reflections on other forms of imagery agnosia and deficits of autobiographical memories are presented and a hypothesis about putative brain processes that can account for such phenomena is discussed. Extreme individual differences in imagery and in autobiographical memory have implications for many fields of study, from consciousness research to education.