aphantasia

English

Etymology

a- + phantasia. From Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, not) + φαντασία (phantasía, perception, impression, image, look, appearance), coined in a 2015 article.[1]

Pronunciation

  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˌeɪ.fænˈteɪ.zi.ə/, /ˌeɪ.fænˈteɪ.ʒə/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: a‧fan‧ta‧sia

Noun

aphantasia (uncountable)

  1. (psychology, pathology) A condition where one does not possess a functioning "mind's eye" and cannot visualize imagery.
    • 2020 July 15, Serena Puang, “Living With Aphantasia, the Inability to Make Mental Images”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
      But aphantasia not only impacts people’s learning experiences; it also extends into their personal lives. Not being able to visualize means never picturing the faces of family or close friends and remembering images as abstract information.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

  • anauralia (the absence of auditory imagery, particularly the lack of an "inner voice".)
  • hyperphantasia

References

  1. Adam Zeman, Michaela Dewar, Sergio Della Sala (2015 December 1) “Lives without imagery – Congenital aphantasia”, in Cortex, volume 73, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 378–380
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