Mise à jour le 07 janv. 2025
Publié le 7 janvier 2025 – Mis à jour le 7 janvier 2025
Financement ANR
2025 - 2029
Porté par Gaën Plancher
Can everyone picture a breakfast table? Does everyone have an inner monologue? Mental images can be defined as representations and the accompanying experience of sensory information without a direct external stimulus. While most individuals will report experiencing mental images as vivid as the actual scene, some may report the absence of any mental imagery. Scientific interest for this phenomenon, known as aphantasia, has been renewed very recently. The capacity to create and manipulate mental images, in particular in the verbal and visuo-spatial domains, is considered as a fundamental component of working memory. Therefore, aphantasia, with a prevalence in the typical population of up to 4%, challenges prevailing theories of working memory. To date, there have been relatively few studies exploring variations in the modalities in aphantasia, and none examine their potential impact on working memory. The objective of the APHANTASIA project is to: 1. Develop objective and implicit measures for assessing aphantasia across various sensory modalities, including visual and auditory imagery (WP1). 2. Situate the performance level of individuals with aphantasia on visual and verbal working memory and various cognitive tasks (WP2). 3. Investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of working memory and mental imagery processes in individuals with aphantasia using multivariate analyses of electroencephalography (EEG) data (WP3). The APHANTASIA project not only aims to deepen our understanding of aphantasia but also to test and refine existing theories of working memory. Our consortium is optimally composed to tackle these challenging questions. It brings together specialists of working memory (EMC, Lyon), visual perception and inner language (LPNC, GIPSA-lab, Grenoble), atypical mental imagery (LPNC, EMC) and EEG (EMC, LPNC, GIPSA-lab).