@juhasilvanto.bsky.social
Cognitive neuroscientist currently interested in the interplay of interoception and imagery. Working hypothesis that aphantasia results from suboptimal processing of interoceptive signals in the insula
Pinned
How Interoception and the Insula Shape Mental Imagery and Aphantasia - PubMed
A major question in cognitive neuroscience is understanding the neural basis of mental imagery, particularly in cases of its absence, known as aphantasia. While research in this field has focused on t...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Interoceptive/insula theory of aphantasia: rather than purely a sensory deficit, aphantasia results from abnormal autonomic signaling and disrupted interoception:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39912831/
Some evidence:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39912831/
Some evidence:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
My group has cog neuro PhD positions available (at the University of Macau). We work on mind-body links, particularly with respect to imagery/aphantasia and mental health. Please get in touch if you are interested!
November 21, 2025 at 4:35 AM
My group has cog neuro PhD positions available (at the University of Macau). We work on mind-body links, particularly with respect to imagery/aphantasia and mental health. Please get in touch if you are interested!
Reposted
Our N≈500 paper on the neural architecture of mental imagery is out! Fun work with @timokvamme.bsky.social, @juhasilvanto.bsky.social, Massimo Lumaca and many others.
Just published in NeuroImage: What makes some people's mental imagery so vivid? We analyzed 500+ brains using graph theory on structural & functional connectomes...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
October 27, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Our N≈500 paper on the neural architecture of mental imagery is out! Fun work with @timokvamme.bsky.social, @juhasilvanto.bsky.social, Massimo Lumaca and many others.
New study from @timokvamme.bsky.social
suggests we may have overlooked a critical brain region in mental imagery research: the insula:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
After decades of research focusing on sensory/frontal/parietal regions, the insula may be just as central to imagery.
suggests we may have overlooked a critical brain region in mental imagery research: the insula:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
After decades of research focusing on sensory/frontal/parietal regions, the insula may be just as central to imagery.
Neural Network Topologies Supporting Individual Variations in Vividness of Visual Imagery
Vividness of visual imagery varies considerably across individuals, yet its neural underpinnings remain unclear. As emphasized in recent debates, a ke…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 11, 2025 at 5:08 AM
New study from @timokvamme.bsky.social
suggests we may have overlooked a critical brain region in mental imagery research: the insula:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
After decades of research focusing on sensory/frontal/parietal regions, the insula may be just as central to imagery.
suggests we may have overlooked a critical brain region in mental imagery research: the insula:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
After decades of research focusing on sensory/frontal/parietal regions, the insula may be just as central to imagery.
In this preprint we report that childhood trauma is linked to visual imagery deficits. Across imagery spectrum, severe childhood trauma is associated with a 20% decrease in imagery vividness vs low trauma; 4-5x higher prevalence of imagery deficits in severe vs low trauma.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
October 10, 2025 at 10:07 AM
In this preprint we report that childhood trauma is linked to visual imagery deficits. Across imagery spectrum, severe childhood trauma is associated with a 20% decrease in imagery vividness vs low trauma; 4-5x higher prevalence of imagery deficits in severe vs low trauma.
osf.io/preprints/ps...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
Imagery/aphantasia: all roads lead to insula!
New comprehensive model combining attentional and interoceptive views of aphantasia.
Was a pleasure to be part of this with @christianoscholz.bsky.social @jianghaoliu.bsky.social @mmonzel.bsky.social @timokvamme.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
New comprehensive model combining attentional and interoceptive views of aphantasia.
Was a pleasure to be part of this with @christianoscholz.bsky.social @jianghaoliu.bsky.social @mmonzel.bsky.social @timokvamme.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
October 4, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Imagery/aphantasia: all roads lead to insula!
New comprehensive model combining attentional and interoceptive views of aphantasia.
Was a pleasure to be part of this with @christianoscholz.bsky.social @jianghaoliu.bsky.social @mmonzel.bsky.social @timokvamme.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
New comprehensive model combining attentional and interoceptive views of aphantasia.
Was a pleasure to be part of this with @christianoscholz.bsky.social @jianghaoliu.bsky.social @mmonzel.bsky.social @timokvamme.bsky.social
osf.io/preprints/ps...
affective-autonomic pathway to acquired aphantasia: appr. 60% of acquired cases of aphantasia have psychogenic origin. In the interoceptive model, affective disorders disrupt the integration of bodily & cognitive signals needed for imagery. work with Yoko Nagai www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Autonomic, Neurodevelopmental, and Early Adversity Correlates of Acquired Aphantasia
Aphantasia (the inability to voluntarily generate mental imagery) has traditionally been studied as a congenital or neurological condition. However, h…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 15, 2025 at 11:42 PM
affective-autonomic pathway to acquired aphantasia: appr. 60% of acquired cases of aphantasia have psychogenic origin. In the interoceptive model, affective disorders disrupt the integration of bodily & cognitive signals needed for imagery. work with Yoko Nagai www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted
New from Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social lab:
Mental rotation is often regarded as paradigmatic for #mentalimagery. But it turns out people often don't use imagery for mental rotation - & when they do it is often not useful (same viewpoint trials). #visionscience #psychscisky
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Mental rotation is often regarded as paradigmatic for #mentalimagery. But it turns out people often don't use imagery for mental rotation - & when they do it is often not useful (same viewpoint trials). #visionscience #psychscisky
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Redirecting
doi.org
July 21, 2025 at 12:20 AM
New from Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social lab:
Mental rotation is often regarded as paradigmatic for #mentalimagery. But it turns out people often don't use imagery for mental rotation - & when they do it is often not useful (same viewpoint trials). #visionscience #psychscisky
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
Mental rotation is often regarded as paradigmatic for #mentalimagery. But it turns out people often don't use imagery for mental rotation - & when they do it is often not useful (same viewpoint trials). #visionscience #psychscisky
doi.org/10.1016/j.co...
been a fan of @visnerd.bsky.social 's work for 20 years... his new paper is really important as it shows the limitation of Binocular Rivalry as measure of imagery vividness...important implications for aphantasia research; BR may not be objective gold standard
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Objective priming from pre-imagining inputs before binocular rivalry presentations does not predict individual differences in the subjective intensity of imagined experiences
Most people can imagine images that they experience within their mind's eye. However, there are marked individual differences, with some people report…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 31, 2025 at 2:56 AM
been a fan of @visnerd.bsky.social 's work for 20 years... his new paper is really important as it shows the limitation of Binocular Rivalry as measure of imagery vividness...important implications for aphantasia research; BR may not be objective gold standard
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Such fascinating work! I also 100% recommend this paper from the same @kerblooee.bsky.social group - the first predictive model of how we distinguish internal and external percepts...explaining imagery, halllucination... great glinical implications academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
July 30, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Such fascinating work! I also 100% recommend this paper from the same @kerblooee.bsky.social group - the first predictive model of how we distinguish internal and external percepts...explaining imagery, halllucination... great glinical implications academic.oup.com/nc/article/2...
Reposted
*Worth your time to read!*
Some experts predict the impact of superhuman AI over the next decade in “AI 2027”, a scenario that represents their best guess about what that might look like very soon & it’s implications for all of us:
ai-2027.com
Some experts predict the impact of superhuman AI over the next decade in “AI 2027”, a scenario that represents their best guess about what that might look like very soon & it’s implications for all of us:
ai-2027.com
AI 2027
A research-backed AI scenario forecast.
ai-2027.com
July 27, 2025 at 6:04 PM
*Worth your time to read!*
Some experts predict the impact of superhuman AI over the next decade in “AI 2027”, a scenario that represents their best guess about what that might look like very soon & it’s implications for all of us:
ai-2027.com
Some experts predict the impact of superhuman AI over the next decade in “AI 2027”, a scenario that represents their best guess about what that might look like very soon & it’s implications for all of us:
ai-2027.com
Really interesting work! Muraki and Pexman are taking aphantasia research into fascinating new directions!
🧠 Just out with @pennypexman.bsky.social “Simulation in the ‘Blind’ Mind”.
We found that even without conscious imagery (aphantasia), people still simulate sensorimotor info when processing language. 💭🔤
We found that even without conscious imagery (aphantasia), people still simulate sensorimotor info when processing language. 💭🔤
July 25, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Really interesting work! Muraki and Pexman are taking aphantasia research into fascinating new directions!
Reposted
➡️ Faster processing of motor-linked words in aphantasia suggest that mental simulation is intact even in the absence of conscious mental imagery.
📄 Full article in this Neuropsychologia special issue (doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...)
📄 Full article in this Neuropsychologia special issue (doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...)
July 17, 2025 at 4:55 PM
➡️ Faster processing of motor-linked words in aphantasia suggest that mental simulation is intact even in the absence of conscious mental imagery.
📄 Full article in this Neuropsychologia special issue (doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...)
📄 Full article in this Neuropsychologia special issue (doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...)
Reposted
Our new preprint explores what people with different visual imagery abilities 'see' during Ganzflicker-induced hallucinations. We used NLP + ML techniques to analyze descriptions from 4,000+ participants.
See what we found in @kerblooee.bsky.social's thread
See what we found in @kerblooee.bsky.social's thread
July 15, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Our new preprint explores what people with different visual imagery abilities 'see' during Ganzflicker-induced hallucinations. We used NLP + ML techniques to analyze descriptions from 4,000+ participants.
See what we found in @kerblooee.bsky.social's thread
See what we found in @kerblooee.bsky.social's thread
Reposted
If you have 10-20 minutes (depends on how fast you are), would you please consider doing this online study on #mentalimagery? It contains a survey & an experiment where you look at pictures and you respond what you see:
#psychscisky #neuroskyence #visionscience
tstbl.co/820-917
#psychscisky #neuroskyence #visionscience
tstbl.co/820-917
July 7, 2025 at 1:51 AM
If you have 10-20 minutes (depends on how fast you are), would you please consider doing this online study on #mentalimagery? It contains a survey & an experiment where you look at pictures and you respond what you see:
#psychscisky #neuroskyence #visionscience
tstbl.co/820-917
#psychscisky #neuroskyence #visionscience
tstbl.co/820-917
Reposted
Making Sense of Sensation: A model of Interoceptive Attribution and Appraisal with Clinical applications
New preprint from @drhannahsavage.bsky.social & @sarahgarf.bsky.social
#interoception #neuroskyence 🧠🫀🫁
osf.io/preprints/ps...
New preprint from @drhannahsavage.bsky.social & @sarahgarf.bsky.social
#interoception #neuroskyence 🧠🫀🫁
osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
July 11, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Making Sense of Sensation: A model of Interoceptive Attribution and Appraisal with Clinical applications
New preprint from @drhannahsavage.bsky.social & @sarahgarf.bsky.social
#interoception #neuroskyence 🧠🫀🫁
osf.io/preprints/ps...
New preprint from @drhannahsavage.bsky.social & @sarahgarf.bsky.social
#interoception #neuroskyence 🧠🫀🫁
osf.io/preprints/ps...
The insula is often ignored in neuroimaging studies on mental imagery. However, a new study by @timokvamme.bsky.social shows visual imagery is linked (amongst other areas) to more efficient structural connectivity in the right insula osf.io/preprints/ps...
OSF
osf.io
July 4, 2025 at 1:24 AM
The insula is often ignored in neuroimaging studies on mental imagery. However, a new study by @timokvamme.bsky.social shows visual imagery is linked (amongst other areas) to more efficient structural connectivity in the right insula osf.io/preprints/ps...
Do you have aphantasia? We are running a new study on how individuals with or without imagery associate emotions with different parts of the body - it only takes 15 min!
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
Contact: [email protected]
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
Contact: [email protected]
Powered by Gorilla
Make the world a better place by participating in cutting edge behavioural research. Powered by Gorilla
research.sc
June 30, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Do you have aphantasia? We are running a new study on how individuals with or without imagery associate emotions with different parts of the body - it only takes 15 min!
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
Contact: [email protected]
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
Contact: [email protected]
Do you have aphantasia? Would you be interested in taking part in a study exploring how we associate emotions with different body parts? It only takes 15 min!
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
contact: [email protected]
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
contact: [email protected]
Powered by Gorilla
Make the world a better place by participating in cutting edge behavioural research. Powered by Gorilla
research.sc
June 30, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Do you have aphantasia? Would you be interested in taking part in a study exploring how we associate emotions with different body parts? It only takes 15 min!
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
contact: [email protected]
You can take part here: research.sc/participant/...
contact: [email protected]
Interoception in aphantasia: imprecise interoceptive signals may prevent prefrontal top-down signals from sufficiently activaing sensory cortices
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
Frontiers | Interoception, insula, and agency: a predictive coding account of aphantasia
Aphantasia-the inability to consciously experience mental imagery-has emerged as one of the most intriguing phenomena in cognitive psychology and neuroscienc...
www.frontiersin.org
June 13, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Interoception in aphantasia: imprecise interoceptive signals may prevent prefrontal top-down signals from sufficiently activaing sensory cortices
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...
Reposted
I am so excited to share that our paper 'A neural basis for distinguishing imagination from reality' is now published in @cp-neuron.bsky.social! 🧠✨ See thread below! doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
June 5, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I am so excited to share that our paper 'A neural basis for distinguishing imagination from reality' is now published in @cp-neuron.bsky.social! 🧠✨ See thread below! doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...
Interoceptive/insula theory of aphantasia: rather than purely a sensory deficit, aphantasia results from abnormal autonomic signaling and disrupted interoception:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39912831/
Some evidence:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39912831/
Some evidence:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
How Interoception and the Insula Shape Mental Imagery and Aphantasia - PubMed
A major question in cognitive neuroscience is understanding the neural basis of mental imagery, particularly in cases of its absence, known as aphantasia. While research in this field has focused on t...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
June 6, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Interoceptive/insula theory of aphantasia: rather than purely a sensory deficit, aphantasia results from abnormal autonomic signaling and disrupted interoception:
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39912831/
Some evidence:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39912831/
Some evidence:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
osf.io/preprints/ps...
1/ What causes acquired aphantasia? Our new preprint shows links to affective conditions, early life adversity, neurodevelopmental traits, and increased autonomic reactivity, pointing to an affective-autonomic pathway
#aphantasia #MentalHealth #interoception
#aphantasia #MentalHealth #interoception
June 5, 2025 at 10:48 AM
1/ What causes acquired aphantasia? Our new preprint shows links to affective conditions, early life adversity, neurodevelopmental traits, and increased autonomic reactivity, pointing to an affective-autonomic pathway
#aphantasia #MentalHealth #interoception
#aphantasia #MentalHealth #interoception