IFL Science has some new findings about people with aphantasia — that is, people who don’t have an inner movie-screen playing thoughts as images. There are more of them than you might guess at first. Apparently, for good and for ill, some people who live without mental imagery suddenly gain it — permanently — after taking drugs like LSD, DMT, or psilocybin mushrooms:
However, two recent case reports have highlighted the potential of psychedelics to fire up the mind’s eye in those with no previous mental imagery. The first of these involves a man with aphantasia who suddenly started seeing internal images following a single dose of the Amazonian hallucinogen ayahuasca, while the second concerns a 34-year-old woman who experienced the same effect after taking magic mushrooms.
In the latter example, the individual experienced a sudden explosion of internal vision, jumping from the minimum to the maximum score on a standardized test for mental imagery. A year later, the woman’s score had dropped to around average, indicating that a single dose of psilocybin can produce a sustained reversal of aphantasia.
At present, it’s unclear how common this effect is or whether psychedelics have the potential to enhance mental imagery in every person who lacks this form of internal experience. “However, if this phenomenon turns out to be common, it would have important implications for the expected effects for patients undergoing psychedelic therapy, as well as for the understanding of the mechanisms behind aphantasia and mental imagery,” write the authors of the new report.
According to the researchers, the use of psychedelics to activate the mind’s eye could, in theory, be harnessed therapeutically. For instance, a technique called “imagery rescripting” involves visualizing positive scenarios in order to help patients transform their relationship with negative memories, thoughts, or events.
At the same time, however, the authors explain that “people with stronger visual imagery tend to have more intrusive thoughts and memories, cravings and maladaptive daydreaming when compared to people with aphantasia.” For instance, they write that “strong imagery is associated with an increased risk of PTSD flashbacks.”
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You can read more of the aphantasia research here, in Cortex.