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Fifteen Types of Mental Imagery and Vividness Ranges


Introduction to the Proposed Framework

The new framework that I have presented, designed to help with understanding mental imagery, now includes fifteen distinct modalities (or "yeda's"), each with a range of four variations in strength: aphantasia, hypophantasia, phantasia and hyperphantasia. 

This results in a total of sixty variations leading to over one billion possible combinations of mental experiences. This expanded framework offers a deeper insight into the diverse ways our minds perceive and interact with imagery, unlocking a more detailed understanding of the mental senses. Neurodiversity is the norm, we all possess a unique perspective to bring to the table. 

It has taken two years and a lot of feedback from the community to be able to articulate the instant "feeling" or "knowing" I had two years ago when I discovered aphantasia and a door was opened—the topic of neurodivergence suddenly "all made sense", as did a lot more of my life. It has taken this long for the research to be there, and for me to find words that articulate my experience and the knowledge in a way that others could understand. I often say "my mind works backwards!", but I think there might be more truth to that than it first appears. I get intuitive answers, then have to figure out why I got that answer and if it was correct (my work in research laboratories and with foxes are other examples of times those metacognitive senses took hold)—what do we call the feeling and knowing senses? Do people lack these mental senses or possess them in excess also, and what is that percentage breakdown? 

Personally, I think it is time we recognised the value of emotion and intuition within the grander scheme. 



The terminology and headings used in the image and below are based purely on the research terms. 

I think many people would appreciate seeing a more complete list of the mental senses that have been studied, defined and explored. To my knowledge, this is the only place where such a list is available—though I’m sure it will continue to evolve as more research is done. In the interim, I can use my proposed framework.

Types of Mental Imagery Currently Known in Aphantasia Research:

  1. Visual Imagery Imagination Spectrum

  2. Auditory Imagery Imagination Spectrum and Anauralia

  3. Tactile Imagery Imagination Spectrum

  4. Olfactory Imagery Imagination Spectrum

  5. Gustatory Imagery Imagination Spectrum

New and Emerging Research on Several Extra Mental Senses:

  1. Intuitive or Metacognitive Imagery Emerging Research on Intuition

  2. Emotional Imagery Feeling of Knowing and Emotional Aphantasia

  3. Intraphonic Imagery (Inner Voice) The Silent Mind and its Association with Aphantasia and Anendophasia

  4. Spatial and/or Object Imagery Spatial Imagery Study

  5. Motor Imagery Imagination Spectrum

  6. Introspective Imagery Introspective Imagery Research

  7. Temporal Imagery Time Perspective Inventory

  8. Dream or Involuntary Imagery e.g Hypnopompia

  9. Involuntary and/or Thermal Imagery Fevered Imaginations

  10. Pain or Somatic Imagery Pain and Mental Imagery 

The Range of Imagery Experiences:

  1. Aphantasia Aphantasia Study

  2. Hypophantasia Hypophantasia Article

  3. Phantasia Mental Imagery Variance

  4. Hyperphantasia Highly Vivid Imagery

Additional Topics of Interest:

  1. Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) Sensory Processing Sensitivity

  2. Charcot-Wilbrand Syndrome Syndrome Overview

  3. Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM) SDAM FAQ

  4. Aphantasia, Imagination, and Dreaming Springer Article

  5. Aphantasia Article Mentioning 20 Sense Modalities The Conversation Article

  6. Yedasentience Making Sense of Making Sense

Aphantasia Research Groups:

Additional References:

A Note on Yedasentience and The "Yeda's"

Yedasentience is scientifically defined as:

"Feeling of Knowing - An internally generated feeling of knowing (termed yedasentience) provides a phenomenological sign of goal attainment and has as its consequence the termination of thoughts, ideas, or actions motivated by concerns of harm to self or others" Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2011

Yeda (Hebrew) - "A sense of knowing" "knowledge" or "to know" (this was then applied to the known body senses—we currently know of 15 distinct modalities being researched in relation to mind—to distinguish them as a mental sense, e.g. "yedavoyance" - "to know" vision or visual imagery, "yedatangency" - "to know" touch or tactile imagery, etc.)

The terms Yedasentience (the scientific definition for the feeling mind) and "Yedacognizance" (the knowing mind, as per this framework) are crucial to me because they provide a way to articulate two distinct senses I experience. Explaining I have an emotional and intuitive mind doesn't cut it, these words already possess meaning that is misunderstood by society, and they are considered traits which are culturally dismissed as weakness. These senses or "modes of thought" are not a choice, and they are essential to my perception, I rely on them heavily—they compensate for the other mental sense lacks. My original framework used these terms as an interim language, but the new version has been adapted to better align with evolving scientific terminology and perspectives. While scientific language is still developing and often used loosely, it helps me bridge the gap between my experiences and the terminology available.

These concepts describe aspects of my experience that remain scientifically undefined, which means I must rely on this interim language to communicate them. It could take decades for the research to catch up, and in the meantime, I need a way to articulate my experiences. This is how my highly yedasentient and "yedacognizant" mind functions. The process I followed to develop my framework—starting from a poem about clairvoyance and two years of consulting forums—might not make sense to everyone, but I've tried to detail and support my approach with evidence and expert feedback to clarify my position.

I now have a better understanding of the senses I experience, as well as those I don’t, whether there is language for them or not. Personal and unusual experiences with intuition, PTSD, NDE, lucid dreams, fever dreams and dream cessation also make more sense to me now (with the exception of intuition, the rest in that list were experienced as the same type of phenomenon for me). It's encouraging to see more terms being developed that reflect these experiences. This growing language helps refine and expand the original framework I started with.

If you know of any other mental senses being studied, drop a comment below!


Update 10/12/24 I: After several requests for clarification, I have decided to add the details here: 

Mental Imagery:

The term "mental imagery" denotes all the imagination senses, including; visual imagery, auditory imagery, olfactory imagery, etc. This is an established scientific concept and while it is a little confusing, it is the collective term for the collective mental senses. 

Vividness Variations: 

The concept of the four levels of variationaphantasia, hypophantasia, phantasia and hyperphantasiais foundational to understanding the diversity of human cognition. This scale was initially designed to identify the minimal possible combinations of variations, providing a starting point for exploring the full spectrum of mental experiences. 

However, these four level of vividness are only the beginning. They can theoretically be expanded in hundreds of gradations. For example, in the original key's framework of 8 modalities of mental sense and four levels of vividness, there were 65,536 possible combinations of mind (4⁸). Extending this framework to 15 modalities results in over a billion combinations of mind (4¹⁵). Extending further to 42 modalities (as per original notes, including every sense I could possibly imagine) produces a staggering 2 sextillion combinations of mind (4⁴²). 

If we also refine the vividness levelbreaking the four primary levels into sublevels of reflect nuances like the variations within hypophantasia and hyperphantasia etc., the numbers will climb even higher. For instance, individuals with aphantasia might still experience fleeting moments of mental imagery, such as during psychedelic states, while others might not. Similarly, there are likely subtypes of hyperphantasia and hypophantasia that represents different intensities or modalities of vivid imagery. 

While it's not feasible to categorise all 2 sextillion-plus combinations of mind, the key simplifies this complexity. For now, it suffices to recall the 15 core modalities of mind (Yeda's) and understand the four base levels of vividnessrather than memorising billions of possible combinations. This incredible diversity hints to the vast complexity of human neurodiversity. Each mind is unique, shaped by an intricate interplay of modalities and variations of vividness. By refining this framework, we are collectively moving psychology closer to its neurological roots, gaining a clearer picture of the full spectrum of cognitive experiences. 

This approach not only enriches our understanding of mental diversity but also highlights the need for more precise language to describe unrecognised cognitive phenomena. 

The "Thesis":

One of the challenges in this field is the absence of adequate terminology for certain experiences. My thesisgeneralisation of the term written in response to repeated suggestions to "write a paper", aimed to address this issue. While it's not formally published, it is available on ResearchGate to ensure visibility and spark further discussion. It is listed as a "research proposal" and available at: 

The primary goal of my thesis was to draw attention to these linguistic gaps and propose a framework to address them. At present, the framework includes 15 modalities and their corresponding vividness levels, the 4 base levels of vividness provide a sufficient starting point, identifying over 1 billion combinations of mind. 

As the scientific community continues to refine these concepts, I will update the framework to incorporate new insights. For now, this work serves as a foundationa way to highlight the incredible complexity of diversity of the human mind and provide tools for better understanding. 

By addressing these gaps, we can not only categorise minds more effectively but also foster a greater empathy and appreciation for the rich tapestry of neurodiversity. 

Emotional and Intuitive Minds:

During discussions with Dr. Adam Zeman, he proposed the term "hyperemotional imagery" to describe one of my experiences. However, this term felt misaligned. The terms "emotional" and "hyperemotional" carry negative connotations, often tied to stereotypes about emotional traits, and feels dismissive. Instead, I introduced the term "high yedasentience" for having high emotional imagery, which better encapsulates my experiencesa modality of thought rooted in feelings rather than visuals or words. 

As someone who lacks many types of mental imagery, I rely heavily on emotional and intuitive imagery. For me, thinking in feelings isn't a choice, it's the default. This often leads to misunderstandingsfor example, being told to "stop being so emotional", as if emotions are optional. While emotional imagery might be optional for others, it isn't for me. And just as someone lacking emotional imagery might not understand this modality of thought, I don't understand visual imagery in the way others might. 

Similarly, Dr. Zeman referred to another of my experiences as "intelligence" based on metacognitive imagery. While I appreciate being called intelligentsomething that happens a lotthe term feels overly broad and insufficient. It doesn't capture the nuanced phenomenon I experience: a mild precognitive ability to sense patterns and connections before they are fully realised. I describe this as "yedacognizance", a term that reflects this distinct cognitive process more accurately than "intelligence"which is learnt. 

I am not convinced you can learn a mental sense you do not possess: such as visual, emotional or metacognitive imagery. However, I am of the opinion you can potentially condition any mental senses you do possess to be stronger or weaker. I also feel "extinction" (in the sense of behavioural psychology and conditioning processes) is also possible, but I do not know thisnot like I instantly knew there was a key to the mind when I heard about aphantasia, even before we had language for it. 

These discussions underscore the need for new, precise language to bridge the gaps in our understanding of cognitive modalities. 

Final Note on the Key and Proving Yedacognizance:

How do you prove you understood something you shouldn't have been able to understand, before the research and language existed to define it? 

How do you prove high metacognitive imageryor what I call "high yedacognizance"and the ability to know before you should know? I've tried to explain it and document it as best I can. This key is an example of my intuitive yedacognizant ability. Learning of aphantasia made me instantly understand far more than just visual imagery. They key remains consistent even as new language or terminology emerges. That's the point of the key: it's not about specific words. The framework, the understandingthe keyis there. I can sense it. It works regardless of the labels we attach to it. The key the closest thing to "proof" of this ability I've got. 

It also makes me wonder, could the likes of Nostradamus etc., have had even stronger metacognitive abilities than I, having a stronger or different type of "yedacognizant" ability? Was documenting his thoughts what he was trying to prove? That he knew it before it happened? On the modern end of the spectrum I wonder, is emerging technology detailing attempts to cultivate yedacognition? 

Learning about aphantasia raised so many questions for me! 


Update 10/12/24 IIAfter continued confusion on the terminology, I have clarified the details further here: 

Aligning with Scientific Terminology

The term "imagery" can be confusing, especially because it often conjures up ideas of "images" specifically. I struggled with this myselfit initially felt counterintuitive. However, after diving into the scientific literature and speaking directly to experts like Dr. Zeman, I came to understand that "imagery" is a standardised term used to describe a broad spectrum of mental experiences across various sensory modalities. It's time for our community to adopt this standardised language to ensure clarity and consistency. 

This scientific understanding aligns seamlessly with my original key, so I have updated my terminology to reflect the scientific consensus. This post aims to address reoccurring misunderstandings, clarify what "imagery" means in the context of the research, and provide reference for those seeking a deeper understanding. 

To address some of the recurring misunderstandings:

  1. "Imagery" in Science: Mental imagery encompasses all sensory modalities—visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and beyond. Aphantasia, for example, does not refer solely to the absence of visual imagery but rather to a lack of mental imagery across these domains. This distinction is crucial and well-supported in scientific literature, as reflected in the references I have shared.

  2. Purpose of Standardized Language: My intention is not to impose my perspective but to align with established scientific definitions so we can all communicate effectively. Using consistent terminology helps prevent confusion, particularly when discussing concepts like vividness variations (e.g., aphantasia to hyperphantasia) or different sensory modalities.
  3. Clarifying Misconceptions: Some believe aphantasia solely involves the lack of visual imagery, but this is incorrect. Research supports that it encompasses multiple sensory domains. It took me time to grasp this distinction as well, but understanding the scientific consensus has been invaluable.

I recognize that this topic can evoke strong opinions, and I genuinely appreciate the effort people put into engaging with it. However, I encourage everyone to consider the referenced materials and the definitions provided by experts in this area. By doing so, we can move toward a clearer, shared understanding.

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