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Review
. 2019 Oct;20(10):624-634.
doi: 10.1038/s41583-019-0202-9.

The human imagination: the cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery

Joel Pearson  1
Affiliations
Review

The human imagination: the cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery

Joel Pearson. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Mental imagery can be advantageous, unnecessary and even clinically disruptive. With methodological constraints now overcome, research has shown that visual imagery involves a network of brain areas from the frontal cortex to sensory areas, overlapping with the default mode network, and can function much like a weak version of afferent perception. Imagery vividness and strength range from completely absent (aphantasia) to photo-like (hyperphantasia). Both the anatomy and function of the primary visual cortex are related to visual imagery. The use of imagery as a tool has been linked to many compound cognitive processes and imagery plays both symptomatic and mechanistic roles in neurological and mental disorders and treatments.

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References

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