Mitigating Aphantasia with Generative Reality

If you have already read the articles on Generative Reality and Mental Imagery, you already have some insight (literally) into how well your own mind’s eye works.

Just as a quick recap, close your eyes and visualize an apple in your mind’s eye.

Most people will be able to create an image, though less vivid than if seeing a real apple. A few will be able to see an image as vividly as if it was right in front of them.

Anywhere from 0.8 to 3.9% [1] of people will not be able to see any image at all. Being unable to generate mental imagery is a condition known as Aphantasia (“without imagination”), sometimes known as ‘mind blindness’.

If you are among the readers who experience this, this article will hopefully further your understanding of what aphantasia is, its implications, and what potential Generative Reality holds for mitigating it.

Even if you are not yourself an aphant, please continue reading. This article will get into themes concerning the future of technology and humanity that you’ll at minimum find quite intriguing.

When the Mind’s Eye is Blind

Even though they are unable to see visual imagery, many aphants (i.e. people with aphantasia) are able to generate auditory imagery, such as an internal monologue. Many are also able to see visual imagery in dreams.

Common to all aphants is an inability to generate visual mental imagery at will.

Using the Streaming Metaphor, aphantasia is when your screen refuses to turn on.

Aphantasia originates in both genetic and environmental factors, and can be both inherited and acquired.

The human brain is fantastically adaptive, and aphants often develop mental strategies which work around their lack of mental imagery. This might in fact strengthen their abilities in other areas, analogous to how blind people often develop their other senses.

Lacking mental imagery can still have a variety of different effects on one’s cognition, and we’ll get into these in the course of this article.

Different people can be differently affected by the same thing, and where one person might experience many advantages to aphantasia, another might be harmfully affected by the very same condition.

This article is written for both audiences, yet it mainly addresses the viewpoint of those who perceive aphantasia as a negative factor in their lives, while fully acknowledging that this perception is not universal among aphants themselves.

Growing Awareness

The existence of aphantasia has been known as far back as 1880 [2], when Francis Galton anecdotally noted how being unable to form mental images was a common trait among his scientist peers.

It was not until 2015 that interest in the phenomenon started growing exponentially, after the publication of a study [3] by a team led by Professor Adam Zeman of the University of Exeter. The study, coining the term ‘aphantasia’, showed how many people experience lifelong, congenital inability to perceive mental imagery.

The publication was followed by several people in the tech- and creative industries, publicly describing their own experiences with aphantasia. These included co-creator of Firefox, Blake Ross, who wrote an essay describing his own aphantasia, and his realization that not everyone experiences this condition.

Former Pixar chief Ed Catmull has also talked about his own experiences with the condition, and on how aphantasia seems to be a common phenomenon at Pixar.

Over time, this public attention led to the establishment of the Aphantasia Network, which now has a significant online presence.

Some people with aphantasia report being able to function just fine with it, and it is truly a testament to the adaptability of the human mind that some of the world’s finest artists (such as some of the animators at Pixar Animation Studios) are able to create their works of art without any use of mental imagery to visualize it.

In fact, some aphants view the lack of a mind’s eye as only a neurological difference, or as holding benefits of its own. By having no way to visualize, aphants are forced to take other neural paths, which might make them better at certain forms of abstract thinking.

In short, if you have no screen to watch Netflix on, you can do other things than watch Netflix. We should remember that aphantasia is not some debilitating neurological disease. It would hardly have remained so anonymous all the way up to 2015, if it was. There is even one study [4], albeit small, which links aphantasia to higher IQ scores.

Still, many aphants view their condition as a net negative, which subtly keeps them from experiencing the fullness of life. Much of the contents of this article is meant for aphants who experience such negative aspects of it, with no disrespect intended to those who view it as a neutral fact of life, or as a boon to their own existence.

The Cognitive Effects of Aphantasia

The original studies on aphantasia focused on verifying its existence and prevalence. The focus has now shifted to investigating the effects of aphantasia on the human mind.

Needless to say, much is still unknown, but we can still gather useful information from the data that is coming in.

For one, earlier studies have shown that mental imagery is strongly tied to emotions and memories. It has been hypothesized that these aspects of our lives would be impacted by living with aphantasia. Studies are now increasingly proving this to be correct.

Memories allow us to learn from past experiences, make decisions about the future, and maintain a sense of personal identity. The inability to visualize images in the mind can affect these cognitive processes.

One study [5] found that people with aphantasia had reduced ability to remember the past and envision the future, and they also recalled fewer and less detailed dreams. Aphants also report having fewer autobiographical memories in general.

Another study points to reduced spatial orientation abilities [6]. Given the relationship between mental imagery and spatial awareness, people with aphantasia may find tasks requiring spatial visualization, like reading maps or assembling furniture, to be more difficult.

Yet another study [7] showed how aphants who read and imagined frightening stories showed a flat-line physiological response compared to those without aphantasia. This study focused on fear specifically, but the researchers speculate that aphants might have the same decreased response to all imaginary stimuli.

The research is still split on whether this leads to better or worse mental health outcomes overall. Lack of mental imagery might make aphants more resistant to conditions such as PTSD [7], where mental imagery plays a critical role. On the other hand, while the majority of aphants report little or no distress from their condition, one recent study [8] found that 34.7% of aphants experience significant distress linked to depression and anxiety.

Researchers also note how many therapeutic models such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) make use of mental imagery, and that many of these interventions might therefore be less effective for people living with aphantasia [9]. This has enormous implications for how mental health interventions need to take aphantasia into consideration.

The ‘Aphantasia Distress Questionnaire’ has been developed to appraise the mental health effects of aphantasia. Hopefully this test will soon be standardized and made available to clinicians, as a starting point for treating mental health issues where aphantasia is a factor.

There also seems to be a correlation between aphantasia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [10], with aphants reporting more autistic traits than controls. Again, we should be careful when interpreting this data, and it should not be taken to mean that all aphants have ASD, or that all people with ASD have aphantasia.

Neither should any of this research be taken to mean that aphants don’t have memories, are unable to think about the future, or have fewer emotions. So far, these studies seem to imply that these processes are impacted in ways that are significant but not catastrophic.

It is well known that correlation does not imply causation, and in regards to aphantasia, the ‘chicken or the egg’ problem still remains. It is possible that aphantasia is causally linked to psychological disorder, or that psychological disorder causes aphantasia, or that both are possible under a complex set of circumstances [11].

Taken together, these findings should strengthen our resolve to provide solutions for the subpopulation of aphants who experience distress due to their aphantasia, or who find mental health interventions based on mental imagery to be ineffective.

Causes of Aphantasia

Why do these differences in mental imagery exist? The answer seems to be found, as it often is, in environmental and genetic differences.

Aphantasia: Nature or Nurture?

Many of the specific mechanisms behind aphantasia are unknown to us at present. We do not know what genetic variations might predispose us to it. Neither do we know the specific environmental factors that could affect it.

For some, this is a trait acquired during their lifetimes, from an accident, illness or other traumatic experience, while most aphants report that for them, creating mental imagery has always been impossible.

This reporting of aphantasia as a lifelong condition points to how genetics are probably involved.

Anecdotally, some aphants report that several of their family members have the same trait. This strengthens the theory that aphantasia has a hereditary component.

We still don’t know whether the genes involved are dominant or recessive, and therefore whether or not it tends to stay in a family over time, or self-resolves over the course of a few generations.

Acquiring Aphantasia

While most people with aphantasia report that they have always had it, it can also be acquired in the course of one’s lifetime.

Research indicates one life aspect playing a role in the development of aphantasia later in life. It comes down to one word: Trauma.

A brand new study shows how, at least when it comes to response to trauma, aphants and the control population are quite similar [12]. But what about a person developing aphantasia as a response to trauma itself?

People who develop aphantasia at a later point in life often report traumatic events preceding the advent of the condition itself. Examples of such physical traumatic events include strokes, surgery and brain injury.

Some aphants anecdotally report their aphantasia as co-occurring with the onset of depression.

Research is now beginning to investigate the causal link between aphantasia and trauma. One recent study of this nature studies the link between aphantasia and post-COVID-19 [13].

It also seems to be the case that vividness of mental imagery decreases across a person’s lifetime [14], which could possibly in some cases lead to complete aphantasia by life’s end.

Solutions to Aphantasia

Understanding that aphantasia might be entrenched in us due to genetics or trauma, might seem like dismal reading for someone experiencing its downsides. Does this not, after all, imply that nothing can be done about it?

A few things come to mind which might counteract this line of thinking.

Most importantly, knowing the causes of aphantasia is the first step to providing solutions. While there is still much to discover about specific genetic and environmental triggers, we now at least know where to look. Our chances of doing something about it in the future has thus already increased dramatically, and will continue to do so as our knowledge about aphantasia expands.

Additionally, multiple avenues of technological possibility are opening up, which could turn out to be of use in mitigating aphantasia, and allow aphants to experience mental imagery.

Suffice to say that the future is looking more promising than bleak.

Generative Reality

Generative Reality (GR) is a concept consisting of all technological and scientific aspirations to harness and enhance the power of the mind’s eye. It aims to augment our ability to interact with our mental imagery for our own betterment.

Imagine being able to visualize your thoughts with such clarity and detail that they feel just as real as the world around you, and then applying this towards creativity, problem-solving and improving mental health. That is the promise of Generative Reality.

To fully understand what GR is, consider reading the introductory article on it. Also, consider subscribing if the subject interests you.

For now, we’ll jump straight into the promise Generative Reality holds for mitigating aphantasia.

Epigenetic Drugs

If genetics are involved in aphantasia, then so are epigenetics.

Epigenetics involves the body turning certain gene expressions on or off in response to the environment.

Aphantasia is suspected to be at least partly caused by environmental factors, which would mean that epigenetics are likely at play.

Epigenetics plays a significant role in such mental conditions as PTSD and depression, as certain gene expressions can be turned on or off in response to traumatic events.

In other words, when you go through certain life experiences, positive or negative, some of your genes can respond by turning on or off, helping you adapt. In some cases, it might be a good response to turn your mind’s eye off, as this could perhaps shield you from adverse mental health conditions (e.g. PTSD).

This would help explain why not everyone who has family members with aphantasia, or has experienced trauma, develops aphantasia. Perhaps only people who have specific gene expressions turn on or off in response to certain life events do so.

If further studies reveal epigenetics to be implicated in aphantasia, there could in theory be some way to turn on the genes necessary for producing mental imagery.

Doing so could be achieved through some form of epigenetic therapy, of which there already exists a wide variety.

A promising lead for those with aphantasia due to previous trauma, are a class of drugs known as HDAC-inhibitors.

HDAC-inhibitors show promise in reversing epigenetic abnormalities involved in many human diseases, including depression [15]. These interventions could allow us to reverse the effects of depression, and perhaps the loss of mental imagery with it.

Many of these epigenetic drug interventions are now in pre-clinical trials. If the trials turn out to be successful, we will hopefully gain access to much better antidepressants than we currently have.

They will also expand our knowledge of therapeutic epigenetic interventions in general, and one day perhaps allow us to target aphantasia specifically.

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs)

Another promising technology for mitigating aphantasia are brain-computer interfaces and neuroprosthetics.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that enable direct communication between the brain and an external device, through the interpretation of neuronal signals. This technology allows a person to control devices using thought alone, bypassing physical means of interaction.

Neuroprosthetics are a subset of BCIs that specifically focus on replacing or enhancing the function of damaged neural systems within the body. They utilize the principles of BCIs to restore lost sensory or motor functions, such as hearing, vision, or limb movement, by directly interfacing with the nervous system.

A clear example of neuroprosthetics can be found in how such devices are currently being developed to alleviate blindness [16]. So far, the results from these devices have been very promising, and have restored some level of very basic visual perception (such as phosphenes) in people who are otherwise blind.

Hopefully, these advances can one day also be turned towards handling aphantasia. It is well known that vision and mental imagery uses many of the same parts of the brain, a fact we have discussed at length earlier.

This should give us hope in this regard, as one is not too far removed from the other. Being able to restore external vision to the blind, could in turn enable the restoration of internal vision to the mind-blind.

BCIs and neuroprosthetics is a growing field. One of the most well-known participants is Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which recently received approval for human trials.

The Future of Aphantasia

Aphantasia is a subject that deserves our continued attention. “3% of people” doesn’t sound like a lot when you say it like that, but this still means that more than 236 million people worldwide are living with aphantasia.

Our understanding of aphantasia is increasing day by day, and there are already technological developments on the horizon which might one day help alleviate the condition, for those who would wish to do so.

Here on the Generative Reality Grid, we will keep following these developments in real time, as well as all subjects related to the technological enhancement of mental imagery.

The Generative Reality Grid

To avoid confusion between this publication and its subject, I’ll sometimes refer to this publication as the Generative Reality Grid.

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