Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39386622›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

The Neural Underpinnings of Aphantasia: A Case Study of Identical Twins.

Emma Megla, Deepasri Prasad, Wilma A Bainbridge

Abstract readPreprint
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Emma MeglaDepartment of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.ORCID 0000-0002-0140-6577
Deepasri PrasadDepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.ORCID 0000-0002-5053-9317
Wilma A BainbridgeDepartment of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.ORCID 0000-0002-7554-0736

Funding

The neural and behavioral causes underlying differences between visual perception and memoryR01EY034432 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · PI Wilma A. Bainbridge · 2023 to 2026
$1.6M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY034432
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aphantasia is a condition characterized by reduced voluntary mental imagery. As this lack of mental imagery disrupts visual memory, understanding the nature of this condition can provide important insight into memory, perception, and imagery. Here, we leveraged the power of case studies to better characterize this condition by running a pair of identical twins, one with aphantasia and one without, through mental imagery tasks in an fMRI scanner. We identified objective, neural measures of aphantasia, finding less visual information in their memories which may be due to lower connectivity between frontoparietal and occipitotemporal lobes of the brain. However, despite this difference, we surprisingly found more visual information in the aphantasic twin's memory than anticipated, suggesting that aphantasia is a spectrum rather than a discrete condition.

Indexed as

fMRIfunctional connectivitylong-term memoryperceptionVisual imagery

Identifiers

PMID39386622
PMCPMC11463508

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.