yes, studies have found differences in RT, suggestive of different strategy in aphants. MR ability correlates with heartbeat discrimination; perhaps issue in aphantasia is general capacity to access and manipulate internal representations vs external stimuli (www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6... )

that's a great idea actually! Good luck!

seems that the auditory cortex’s route into salience hubs and onward to reward centers is selectively weakened....

yes, that's an interesting possibility! Re music, the most fascinating link I've come across (it was a group at NYU i think) who found very high comorbidity of aphantasia with musical anhedonia (but not other types of anhedonia...)..

very interesting work! they don't mention aphantasia or brain basis specifically but i think it would fit in well, with insula the mediating link! (we have argued this re aphantasia link.springer.com/article/10.1... )

yes, because ToM deficit is also a result of suboptimal interoception. In other words, interoception is foundation of both ToM (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... ) and imagery. So in short, in interoception is the foundation of both so thus a more fundamental explanation.

The main issue in aphantasia research is that is too focused on the senses; like blaming muscles for paralysis after a stroke. The real problem may lie deeper, i. interoception and the autonomic nervous system (e.g. congenital aphantasics show lower POTS symptoms, suggestive of lower level issues).

...but what do you make of aphantasia being linked to various of those scales... e.g. self-reported autonomic reactivity (BPQ); chilhdood trauma (CTQ), autism/adhd (also VVIQ is linked to cardioceptive sensitivity)...the overall pattern suggests some kind of interoceptive agnosia

misophonia is linked to abnormal interoceptive processing....as is autism....this could be the link....and ther potential link to aphantasia

yes and that's critical distinction...aphantasia may link to sense of agency which is to large extent an interoceptive process..

It’s perhaps not misdescription but reduced access to internal states. Cong /Acq aphants self-report lower/higher autonomic reactivity vs controls, and cardioceptive sensitivity tracks VVIQ.

will become a classic in the field, i think.

➡️ Faster processing of motor-linked words in aphantasia suggest that mental simulation is intact even in the absence of conscious mental imagery.

📄 Full article in this Neuropsychologia special issue (doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...)

Your preprint is very cool. Really impressive work!!!! Lot of food for thought! @chkhaidze.bsky.social

*the above should have said emotions, agency and embodiment....