Individuals with aphantasia show independent impairments in face perception and face memory, but not face matching

Journal article

Some individuals with aphantasia, an absent or reduced ability to form visual imagery, report face recognition difficulties, and studies have shown aphantasics exhibit impaired face recognition performance on the Cambridge Face Memory Test. While this impaired performance may be due to poor face memory, it may instead, or in addition, be due to difficulties in other face processing domains (such as face perception or face matching). The Cambridge Face Memory Test, Oxford Face Matching Test and a novel analysis strategy were used to obtain independent measures of face memory, face matching and face perception from 34 individuals with aphantasia and an age-matched control group. Results showed that individuals with aphantasia exhibit impairments in face memory and face perception, but not face matching. This study therefore provides information about the specific face processing mechanisms that may be impaired in aphantasia.

Authors: Pounder, Z; Stantic, M; Reeder, R; Catmur, C; Bird, G

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Cortex: A Journal devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
• Volume: 202
• Pages: 157-164
• Publication date: 2026-06-19
• Acceptance date: 2026-06-03
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2026.06.002
• EISSN: 1973-8102
• ISSN: 0010-9452
• Language: English
• Keywords: aphantasia; face processing; face perception; face memory; face matching