History of Research on “Aphantasia” where you cannot imagine an image in your head and “Hyperphantasia” where you can immediately imagine a clear image – GIGAZINE

When you close your eyes and imagine the face of a familiar person or the cute appearance of your favorite animal, there are individual differences in how clear the image is in your head. About 2-5% of the population cannot draw an imaginary picture when they close their eyes even if they try to imagine something.FantasyIt is said to be in the case of “. On the other hand, the state in which you can clearly imagine an image in your head is “Excessive imagination“It’s called. Carl Zimmer, who writes columns about genetics and biology for The New York Times, explains the ins and outs of how these conditions are researched and spread.

Can’t see the images in your mind? you are not alone. – New York times
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/science/minds-eye-mental-pictures-psychology.html

A joint study published by the University of Exeter, Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh found that while most people can easily picture landscapes and creatures in their heads, it turns out that some people may not be able to visualize their own fantasies and images. Research calls this condition “phantasia.”

What is aphantasia, where you cannot imagine people or landscapes in your head? -Gegazin

The symptoms of aphantasia itself were first described in a statistical study conducted in 1880 on images created in the brain (mental images) by imagining objects and landscapes, but for a long time remained largely unexplored. It was left as is. Professor Adam Zeman, who studies neuroscience at the University of Exeter, began his research into mental imagery in 2005 after examining a patient who lost the ability to visualize images as a result of minor surgery. Professor Zeman and his colleagues call people who have no mental images “aphantasics,” and over the decades following their first patient, they have interviewed more than 12,000 people who claim to have aphantasia. Professor Zeman and his colleagues believe that there are tens of millions of people with aphantasia around the world, and that millions of people have the ability to draw very strong mental images, called hyperimagination, which is the opposite of aphantasia. We appreciate it there.

The first patient Dr. Zeman observed for aphantasia was Mr. MX, a retired architectural surveyor who said he had lost his mental perception after minor heart surgery. Although Mr. MX could not see people or objects in his mind, the examination revealed that Mr. MX’s visual memory was intact. Mr. MX was also able to answer factual questions such as “Does Tony Blair, the 73rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, have bright colored eyes?” It seemed that he was able to answer the questions that made him spin the words in his head. .

Mr. Zimmer learned of Professor Zimmer’s research in 2010 and wrote about it in the scientific journal ‘exploreAs a result of publishing a column about “Aphantasia”, he received many emails from readers who were aware of Aphantasia. However, people who contacted Mr. Zimmer said they were not born with the inability to see mental images, but rather something acquired due to the effects of surgery, as in the case of Mr. Meeks. Mr. Zimmer sent the email to Professor Zimmer and investigated the 21 people contacted. As a result, Professor Zeman’s research team determined that all 21 subjects had phantasia. Mr. Zimmer published these findings in The New York Times, and as a result of coverage of this research by other media, interest in aphantasia research has increased dramatically.

As a result of this increased interest, Professor Zeman received many calls from people complaining of symptoms of aphantasia, but at the same time he also received many calls from people suffering from the exact opposite condition. In contrast to aphantasia, which is the inability to visualize mental images, Professor Zeman’s research team called the condition of being able to quickly visualize clear, vivid images “hyperimagination.”

“Hyperimagination has capabilities that go beyond just being ‘highly imaginative,’” says Joel Pearson, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of New South Wales who has been researching mental imagery since 2005. I point that out. Mr. Pearson describes the ability of hyperimagination: “It’s as if you have a very vivid dream and you don’t know if it’s real or not. There are more than a certain number of people who can connect the two.”

Thomas Ibaer, one of the first 21 people studied by Professor Zeman, said:fantasy networkWe have launched a website called “Aphantasia” to create a contact point to connect people who have experienced symptoms of Aphantasia with researchers. On the site, you can take online psychological surveys, read articles about aphantasia, and participate in various forums. By September 2023, more than 150,000 people had completed the survey, and more than 20,000 people scored positive for aphantasia.

Ivair’s research has also revealed that aphantasia extends beyond visual images to other senses. Mr. Ivayer himself seems unable to get the music to work in his head when asked to “imagine your favorite song.” Some iFire visitors said: “I struggle with visual imagination, but I can imagine music,” while others said: “I can’t imagine music, but I can’t imagine music.” Some people say ‘I can see the visual well.’

“Surveys like the one conducted by Evair are useful, but because they rely on volunteer results, they only provide broad, subjective feedback,” Pearson said, adding that it is important to understand that aphantasia does not rely solely on surveys. We are developing methods to study hyperimagination and hyperimagination. Researchers at the University of New South Wales, including Mr Pearson, have focused on the fact that the pupil constricts and dilates when a person perceives something, and they believe that imaginative skills correspond to this pupil response. We conducted a hypothesis-driven experiment. As a result, during the “imagine the shape they just saw” task, the group who reported having general visual imagination showed a response in which their pupils dilated in accordance with their imagination, but their awareness of aphantasia decreased. No obvious changes were seen in their pupils. Therefore, the paper concluded that “cognitive load affects pupil size.”

Research results show that people with aphantasia who cannot visualize images in their heads can tell by looking into their eyes.

In another experiment, Professor Pearson took advantage of the fact that “when people watch scary scenes, their skin becomes more conductive” and monitored the skin of volunteers while they read scary stories displayed on a screen in front of them. While most people experienced rapid increases in the level of electrical currents flowing through their skin when they read scary stories, the electrical currents in people with aphantasia did not change. Based on the results of this experiment, the research team concluded that “people with aphantasia tend to feel less fear when they read scary stories in texts. “I feel afraid,” he concluded.

Results of a new survey of people called “Aphantasia” who are not afraid of ghost stories

In their latest research, Dr. Zeman and his colleagues are collecting evidence about how aphantasia and hyperimagination are caused by changes in brain wiring that connects visual centers to other areas. We have also begun research to explore how this brain circuit evokes sensations such as sound as mental images. “Eventually, it may also be possible to enhance mental images using magnetic pulses,” Zimmer points out.

Researchers also use brain scans to discover the circuits that cause aphantasia and hyperimagination. In a study published in May 2023, Professor Zeman’s research team scanned the brains of 24 people with aphantasia, 25 people with hyperimagination, and 20 people with neither. The study found that people with hyperimagination have increased activity in the area that connects the front and back of the brain, and it is believed that a signal can be sent.

Regarding the symptoms of aphantasia, Professor Zeman said: “As far as I can see, aphantasia is an interesting variation in the human experience, not a disorder.” Dr. Zeman’s research shows that people with aphantasia are more likely than average to find jobs related to science or mathematics. Additionally, former Pixar president Ed Catmull announced in 2019 that he had phantasia, and Zimmer said, “Even if you have phantasia, it doesn’t mean you can’t come up with creative ideas.”

Mr. Zimmer also said: “We tend to think that people with hyperimagination have lower abilities and that people with hyperimagination have superior abilities, but this is not necessarily the case. People with hyperimagination imagine very vivid images. That’s why The reason is that people with hyperimagination imagine very vivid images. For this reason, people with hyperimagination may be more likely to confuse false memories with actual events and have traumatic experiences. On the other hand, people with aphantasia may be more likely to confuse false memories with actual events and have traumatic experiences. People with aphantasia are able to visually reenact past experiences. “They are thought to be resistant to trauma because they don’t do that.” Likewise, Professor Zyman says: “People with aphantasia are sometimes said to be good at moving forward, because they don’t stop because they are haunted.” “I think it’s because I don’t have much to put aside.”