By the author · November 4, 2026
Close your eyes and picture an apple. Some people see it at once, red and round, almost as if it were in front of them. Others see nothing at all, only the thought of an apple. Both are normal. The second experience has a name, aphantasia, and it explains why a question like “what do you see when you close your eyes?” gets such different answers. This guide covers what aphantasia is, who named it, how common it is, and how it differs from the sparks and patterns everyone meets in the dark.
In short
- Aphantasia is the inability to form mental images on purpose. Its opposite, hyperphantasia, is unusually vivid mental imagery.
- Francis Galton first described the range of imagery in a statistical study in 1880. Adam Zeman and colleagues named aphantasia in 2015.
- A 2022 estimate puts about 0.8% of people at no voluntary visual imagery, and about 3.9% at none or only dim, vague imagery.
- In Zeman’s 2015 study, most participants who lacked voluntary imagery still had involuntary imagery, for example in dreams.
- It is a variation in how people experience imagery. It is separate from the phosphenes and eigengrau that the eye and brain produce on their own.
What is aphantasia?
Aphantasia means the inability to voluntarily visualize mental images. If you ask a person with aphantasia to picture a beach, they can think about a beach, know what it contains and describe it, but they do not see a picture of it in the mind’s eye. The term covers voluntary imagery: the pictures you call up on purpose. The mind’s eye is the everyday phrase for this ability, and mental imagery is the psychologist’s term for it.
Galton, Marks and Zeman
In 1880 the polymath Francis Galton asked people to recall their breakfast table and rate how clearly they could picture it. In his statistical study of mental imagery he found a wide range, and he is the first to have described the variation. In 1973 the psychologist David Marks published the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), which is still the standard way to measure how vivid a person’s imagery is.
The word “aphantasia” is much newer. In 2015 a team led by the neurologist Adam Zeman, at the University of Exeter, reported on people who had lived without voluntary visual imagery from birth, and proposed the name. The paper, “Lives without imagery: Congenital aphantasia”, used the VVIQ with 21 self-selected participants.
How common is it?
A 2022 estimate found that about 0.8% of people cannot form visual mental images at all, and about 3.9% either cannot or report dim and vague imagery. Different studies use different methods, so the numbers vary. What they agree on is that it is uncommon but far from unheard of, and that many people discover it only when they learn that others really do “see” things in their head.
Dreams and the other senses
- Dreams. In Zeman’s 2015 study, most participants lacked only voluntary visualization and still had involuntary imagery, such as in dreams. A 2020 study found that people with aphantasia had less control over their dreams and fewer sensory and emotional qualities in them.
- Other senses. The same 2020 study linked aphantasia to reduced imagery in other senses and to less vivid autobiographical memories.
Research is still young, and these findings come from relatively small studies. They describe how people report their own experience, and are not a judgment about anyone’s abilities.
Why it is not the same as seeing sparks in the dark
Aphantasia is about imagining on purpose. The gray field, the sparks and the patterns of light that most people see with their eyes closed are different: they are produced by the eye and brain on their own, without any effort to imagine. This is why they are described separately in what you see when you close your eyes.
It is also separate from closed-eye vision, which people describe as perceiving something outside while their eyes are covered by a lightproof mask. A quiet inner view of your own mind, a spontaneous pattern of light, and a perception of something in front of you are three different things, and keeping them apart is the first step to talking about any of them clearly.
Frequently asked questions
What is aphantasia?
It is the inability to voluntarily form mental images. People with aphantasia can think about a thing without picturing it.
Do people see images when they close their eyes?
Many do, but it varies a great deal. Some people picture things clearly, some report faint images, and some report none at all. Most people see a dark gray field, often with faint sparks or patterns, whatever their imagery is like.
Who discovered aphantasia?
Francis Galton described the range of mental imagery in 1880, and Adam Zeman and colleagues proposed the name “aphantasia” in 2015.
How common is aphantasia?
A 2022 estimate puts it at about 0.8% of people for no voluntary visual imagery, and about 3.9% for none or only dim imagery.
Can people with aphantasia dream in pictures?
In Zeman’s 2015 study most participants still had involuntary imagery, such as in dreams. A 2020 study found they had less control over their dreams and fewer sensory and emotional qualities in them.
How can I measure how vivid my imagery is?
Psychologists use the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, introduced by David Marks in 1973. It asks you to picture scenes and rate how clear they are.
Does aphantasia matter for closed-eye vision?
They are different subjects. Aphantasia concerns voluntary mental pictures. Closed-eye vision, as people describe it, is perceiving something outside while the eyes are covered. Read the complete guide for the full picture.
Should I see a doctor about it?
Aphantasia is described in the research as a variation in experience. If you lose imagery suddenly, or are worried about your vision or health, speak with a doctor.
Keep exploring
- What you see when you close your eyes
- Closed-eye vision: the complete guide
- Paroptic vision: what the term means
- The full glossary
Sources
- Wikipedia, “Aphantasia”, with references to Galton (1880), Marks (1973), Zeman and colleagues (2015) and later studies
- A. Zeman, M. Dewar and S. Della Sala, “Lives without imagery: Congenital aphantasia”, Cortex, 2015
This article is for general education and is not medical advice.