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Topics Conditions * Week's top * Latest news * Unread news * Subscribe SCIENCE X ACCOUNT Remember me Sign In Click here to sign in with or Forget Password? Not a member? 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Home 2. Medical research * * * -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 20, 2022 PUPILS REVEAL 'APHANTASIA'—THE ABSENCE OF VISUAL IMAGINATION by University of New South Wales The pupillary reflex is an adaption that optimises the amount of light hitting the retina, changing, even, in response to imagined objects - not so for aphantasic individuals. Credit: Amanda Dalbjorn/Unsplash The study, led by researchers from UNSW Sydney and published in eLife, found that the pupils of people with aphantasia did not respond when asked to imagine dark and light objects, while those without aphantasia did. To first gauge the pupillary reflex of non-aphantasic people, the researchers sought 42 study participants, self-reported as having a visual imagination, and fitted them with glasses to track their eye movements and pupil sizes. Participants were then exposed to bright or dark shapes against a gray background, which predictably evoked pupillary constriction in response to bright shapes (comparable to looking up at a bright sky) and pupillary dilation in response to dark shapes (after switching a light off). Next, to test visual imagery—the mind's capacity to visualize objects—participants were asked to simply imagine those same light or dark shapes (with their eyes open, for their pupils to be tracked) and subsequently report the 'vividness' of that imagery. The researchers found that even in response to imagined bright and dark shapes, the participants' pupils still constricted and dilated appropriately, a pupillary response that was larger in those reporting greater imagery vividness. "The pupillary reflex is an adaption that optimizes the amount of light hitting the retina," says Professor Joel Pearson, senior author on the paper. "And while it was already known that imagined objects can evoke so-called 'endogenous' changes in pupil size, we were surprised to see more dramatic changes in those reporting more vivid imagery. This really is the first biological, objective test for imagery vividness." Testing for a lack of imagination Finally, with the link between visual imagery and pupillary response established, the researchers sought to test the effect in aphantasic individuals. The researchers repeated the study with 18 participants self-reporting aphantasia. Exposing participants to bright and dark shapes, the researchers found that aphantasic individuals exhibited the same pupillary response as the general population: constriction to bright, dilation to dark. However, during the study's second component where participants were asked to visualize those same shapes, the pupillary response of aphantasic individuals did not significantly differ in response to imagined dark versus imagined bright objects. "One of the problems with many existing methods to measure imagery is that they are subjective, that is to say they rely on people being able to accurately assess their own imagery. Our results show an exciting new objective method to measure visual imagery," says Prof Pearson, "and the first physiological evidence of aphantasia. With over 1.3 million Australians thought to have aphantasia, and 400 million more internationally, we are now close to an objective physiological test, like a blood test, to see if someone truly has it." To ensure the aphantasic participants were really attempting imagery, the researchers included a further experimental condition, requesting aphantasic individuals to visualize four shapes, instead of one. While the pupils of those with aphantasia showed no difference when imagining light versus dark objects, they did show a difference imagining one versus four objects, suggesting more mental effort, thereby negating an explanation of non-participation by aphantasic individuals. "Our pupils are known to get larger when we are doing a more difficult task," says Lachlan Kay, Ph.D. candidate in the Future Minds Lab, UNSW. "Imagining four objects simultaneously is more difficult than imagining just one. The pupils of those with aphantasia dilated when they imagined four shapes compared to one, but did not change based on the whether the shapes were bright or dark. This indicated that the participants with aphantasia were indeed trying to imagine in this experiment, just not in a visual way". "The aphantasic pupil response to the four objects condition is also a really exciting finding," adds Prof Pearson, "because for the first time we have strong biological evidence that those with aphantasia are really trying to create a mental image, putting to rest claims that they may simply not be attempting to create a mental image." "These findings are also really interesting in regard to memory and aphantasia," said Dr. Rebecca Keogh, Postdoctoral research fellow based at Macquarie University and another author of the study. "Our previous work has shown that aphantasic individuals are able to perform visual working memory tasks, remembering many images for a short period of time, without using visual imagery. "These findings further highlight the wide variability of the human mind that can often remain hidden until we ask someone about their internal experiences or invent new ways to measure the mind. It reminds us that just because I remember or visualize something one way, doesn't mean everyone does." What's next for aphantasia research? A look into the future… Next, Prof Pearson and his team at the Future Minds Lab plan to investigate how this new method could be scaled up and run online to allow a global, efficient and objective measurement of imagery and aphantasia. "This really is an exciting time. We are very close to having objective, reliable tests for extreme imagery, aphantasia and hyperphantasia (extremely strong visual imagery) that could be scaled up to run online for millions of people everywhere," says Prof Pearson. "We know that thinking in pictures or not affects the number of details in lifelong memories, how emotional we get when reading, and how we hold things in short term memory. This new method will allow us to understand the brain mechanisms of extreme imagery and the global implications for how we think, make decisions and feel." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explore further People with 'mind blindness' are harder to scare, study shows -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More information: Lachlan Kay et al, The pupillary light response as a physiological index of aphantasia, sensory and phenomenological imagery strength, eLife (2022). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.72484 Journal information: eLife Provided by University of New South Wales Citation: Pupils reveal 'aphantasia'—the absence of visual imagination (2022, April 20) retrieved 22 May 2022 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-pupils-reveal-aphantasiathe-absence-visual.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. 212 shares * Facebook * Twitter * Email Feedback to editors * Featured * Last Comments * Popular LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF A SPECIFIC METABOLITE IN DIABETICS MAY EXPLAIN WHY THEY ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO COVID SYMPTOMS May 20, 2022 0 STUDY SHOWS THAT BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT COULD AFFECT HIPPOCAMPAL PLACE CODES May 18, 2022 0 NEW STUDY SUGGESTS MORE MALARIA-CARRYING MOSQUITO BITES HAPPEN DURING THE DAY THAN THOUGHT May 18, 2022 1 A CONTACT LENS THAT MONITORS EYE PRESSURE AND ADMINISTERS GLAUCOMA DRUGS WHEN NEEDED May 18, 2022 0 THE UNDERLYING NEURAL BASIS OF AUTOMATIC ACTION VERSUS FLEXIBLE MOVEMENT EXPLORATION May 16, 2022 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CANNABIS USERS REQUIRE MORE SEDATION FOR ENDOSCOPY 17 hours ago RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON CRIMEAN-CONGO HEMORRHAGIC FEVER DISEASE PROCESS May 20, 2022 A PIONEERING STUDY DISCOVERS AN UNDERLYING CAUSE FOR INFANTILE SPASMS AND POINTS TO A NOVEL THERAPY May 20, 2022 HAYWIRE T CELLS ATTACK PROTEIN IN "BAD" CHOLESTEROL May 20, 2022 NEW CLUES IN FIGHT AGAINST LETHAL BACTERIA May 20, 2022 NEW RESEARCH CHALLENGES ESTABLISHED IDEAS ABOUT INFANT CRYING May 20, 2022 STUDY: APP MORE ACCURATE THAN PATIENT EVALUATION OF STOOL SAMPLES May 20, 2022 * 1 * 2 * RELATED STORIES PEOPLE WITH 'MIND BLINDNESS' ARE HARDER TO SCARE, STUDY SHOWS Mar 10, 2021 APHANTASIA EXPLAINED: SOME PEOPLE CAN'T FORM MENTAL PICTURES Jun 10, 2021 BEING 'MIND-BLIND' MAY MAKE REMEMBERING, DREAMING AND IMAGINING HARDER Jun 22, 2020 NOT SPOOKED BY HALLOWEEN GHOST STORIES? YOU MAY HAVE APHANTASIA Oct 29, 2021 CAN'T DRAW A MENTAL PICTURE? APHANTASIA CAUSES BLIND SPOTS IN THE MIND'S EYE Dec 24, 2020 APHANTASIA CLEARS THE WAY FOR A SCIENTIFIC CAREER PATH May 04, 2020 * RECOMMENDED FOR YOU PEPTIDE DELAYS MELANOMA GROWTH IN ANIMAL TRIALS May 20, 2022 SCIENTISTS DEVISE METHOD TO PREVENT DEADLY HOSPITAL INFECTIONS WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS May 19, 2022 IDENTIFYING DNA REPAIR GENES HOLDS PROMISE FOR IMPROVING CANCER TREATMENT May 19, 2022 NEW STUDY SHOWS GENES CAN PREDICT RESPONSE TO ARTHRITIS TREATMENT, PAVES THE WAY FOR FUTURE DRUG DEVELOPMENT May 19, 2022 BLUEBERRIES CAN LOWER THE RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE May 19, 2022 BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE CONTRIBUTE TO SIGNATURES OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS IN THE BRAIN May 18, 2022 Load comments (0) LET US KNOW IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH OUR CONTENT Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. 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