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Why can’t we conjure up smell and touch in our heads? (part 2)

Readers continue to reveal that, in fact, they are able to conjure up smell and taste, suggesting the inability to do so may be a form of aphantasia

6 September 2023

Various disco, soul and funk, seven inch records at second hand store.

Richard Newstead/Getty Images

Why can’t we conjure up smell and touch in our heads, but we can “listen” to music when nothing is coming through our ears? (cont.)

James Northover
Poole, Dorset, UK

This surely must vary from person to person in the same way some individuals are unable to visualise images in their head, often referred to as aphantasia. The vividness of these virtual senses may be correlated with each other, as a 2020 study suggests that people with aphantasia often report decreased mental “imagery” in the other senses.

Speaking for myself, I have no difficulty in conjuring up sensations of touch…

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