Publications | Current Projects
Discovered Illusions | UQ Psychology
APHANTASIA
Most people can conjure images that they experience in their mind’s eye, whereas Aphantasics cannot. They can only recall facts about recollected images.
Imagined experiences are a product of brain activity.
We want to understand how human brains conjure imagined sensory experiences, and why some brains cannot. We also want to understand how Aphantasia relates to other types of neurodiversity, like Autism. Two of our researchers are Aphantasics, and our research is informed by their lived experiences.
Our overall research aims are to understand how human brains generate conscious experiences, and why atypical brain activity results in different lived experiences.
Our current research aims to develop better scientific measures of Aphantasia. We need both Aphantasic and Hyperphantasic (people who have unusually intense imagined sensory experiences) volunteers to participate in our research.
OUR RESEARCHERS
Prof. Derek H. Arnold
The University of Queensland
Visual Neuroscientist, who has published numerous papers in the world's most prestigious outlets for sensory neuroscience, including Nature, Current Biology, PNAS and Proceedings of The Royal Society B.
Derek is an aphantasic who cannot have imagined visual experiences, but can have imagined audio experiences.
Miss Loren Bouyer
The University of Queensland
PhD candidate and Cognitive Neuroscientist
Loren is an aphantasic who cannot have imagined visual or audio experiences (she cannot silently talk to herself). Loren does not have visual or audio experiences while dreaming.
Interview where Loren talks about her lived experiences of Aphantasia
Prof. Elizabeth Pellicano
University College London
A developmental cognitive scientist and educational psychologist. Prof. Pellicano is world renowned for her research on neurodiversity, with a focus on Autism.
Prof. Pellicano guides the projects investigations of inter-relationships between Aphantasia and Autism.
A/Prof. Samuel Schwarzkopf
The University of Auckland
Visual neuroscientist, A/Prof. Schwarzkopf is world renowned for his neuroimaging research.
A/Prof. Schwarzkopf guides the projects neuroimaging investigations of the structure and connectivity of Aphantasic brains.
Dr. Blake Saurels
The University of Queensland
Cognitive Neuroscientist who studies predictive processes in the human brain and time perception. Dr. Saurels guides the projects electrophysiological investigations.