Aphantasia and autism, ADHD, depression: what research shows

There is evidence of slightly elevated autistic traits in people with aphantasia: Dance et al. (2021) found higher average AQ scores (Autism-Spectrum Quotient) in an aphantasia sample, particularly on the imagination and social skills subscales. Milton et al. (2021) likewise reported in their neuropsychological study that autistic traits were reported more often in the aphantasia group. The evidence is mixed, however — Dupont et al. (2024) found no AQ differences in a small sample (14 people with aphantasia, 14 controls). Hard percentages for an increased autism diagnosis rate are not supported by current research.

Possible explanation: both phenomena involve differences in connectivity between frontal and sensory brain regions. Important direction: aphantasia is NOT an indicator of autism. Conversely, lack of aphantasia doesn't rule out autism. The evidence for a link is suggestive but inconsistent.

The reverse direction has also been studied: in an online survey of 121 adults, King, Buxton and Tyndall (2024) compared autistic with non-autistic participants and found lower average imagery vividness in the autistic participants (effect size d = −0.44); the autistic group also had a higher proportion scoring at or below the aphantasia cut-off. This is an average difference between groups — many autistic people explicitly describe themselves as visual thinkers with very vivid imagination.

Bouyer et al. (2025) argue against a strong link: across several surveys (largest sample 308 people), only a weak association between AQ scores and imagery vividness emerged. The authors conclude that at most a weak connection should be expected. In summary: there is a statistical association, but it is small, not consistently replicated and not a diagnostic criterion in either direction. An aphantasia self-test says nothing about an autism diagnosis — and vice versa.

Sources for this section: Dance, C. J., Jaquiery, M., Eagleman, D. M., Porteous, D., Zeman, A. & Simner, J. (2021). What is the relationship between Aphantasia, Synaesthesia and Autism? Consciousness and Cognition, 89, 103087 (doi:10.1016/j.concog.2021.103087). — Milton, F., Fulford, J., Dance, C. et al. (2021). Behavioral and Neural Signatures of Visual Imagery Vividness Extremes. Cerebral Cortex Communications, 2(2), tgab035 (doi:10.1093/texcom/tgab035). — King, R., Buxton, H. & Tyndall, I. (2024). Aphantasia and autism: An investigation of mental imagery vividness. Consciousness and Cognition, 125, 103749 (doi:10.1016/j.concog.2024.103749). — Bouyer, L. N., Pellicano, E., Saurels, B. W., Schwarzkopf, D. S. & Arnold, D. H. (2025). The vividness of visualisations and autistic trait expression are not strongly associated. Consciousness and Cognition, 129, 103821 (doi:10.1016/j.concog.2025.103821). — The finding by Dupont et al. (2024) is cited from Argueta, P., Dominguez, J., Zachman, J., Worthington, P. & Kana, R. K. (2024). Cognitive and Brain Mechanisms Underlying Aphantasia. Consciousness and Cognition, 127, 103790 (doi:10.1016/j.concog.2024.103790).

Data on ADHD is thinner than on autism. Community surveys suggest a more frequent co-occurrence; controlled, peer-reviewed data on this are still lacking.

Explanations point two ways:

1. 1Aphantasia might ease the ADHD-typical "visual-stimulus filter" profile — fewer inner images, less distraction.
2. 2Both could express variations in dopaminergic systems that influence attention and imagination equally.

Controlled studies are pending.

For depression, two situations must be distinguished:

1. 1Congenital aphantasia + depressionThere is no robust evidence that lifelong (congenital) aphantasia increases the risk of depression. Those who never had mental imagery don't appear more depression-prone for that reason.
2. 2Suddenly acquired aphantasia in the context of depressionThis is neurologically and psychiatrically significant. Severe depressive episodes can temporarily reduce imagery vividness — often accompanied by anhedonia, concentration problems, reduced affect regulation. Medical evaluation matters here.

Strongly expressed aphantasia correlates with Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM) — the tendency to remember one's life factually rather than scenically.

Not everyone with aphantasia has SDAM, and not everyone with SDAM has aphantasia, but there is substantial overlap between the two conditions — an exact, peer-reviewed prevalence figure is not yet established. The Aphantasia Network's community survey (n > 14,000, not a peer-reviewed study) found a notably higher rate of self-reported SDAM signs among respondents with aphantasia than in the general population.

In daily life: trips, birthdays, personal milestones are remembered more as a "list of facts" than a "film sequence". This isn't pathological but can be emotionally burdensome for some people who lack the feeling of "reliving" their memories.

Aphantasia itself is not a reason for medical or psychotherapeutic help. But there are three situations where professional support makes sense:

1. 1If the discovery shakes self-worth or identity: psychotherapeutic counseling can help reframe one's own cognition.
2. 2If co-occurring symptoms of depression, anxiety, ADHD, or autism become burdensome: treat the co-occurring conditions, not the aphantasia.
3. 3If aphantasia is sudden onset (previously normal imagery): neurological and psychiatric evaluation.