Poster Session 02 Program Schedule
02/15/2024
08:00 am - 09:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)
Poster Session 02: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1
Final Abstract #74
Aphantasia and Diminished Imagery in MCI
Nicholas Picanso, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, United States
Hannah Weibley, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, United States
Lynn Shaughnessy, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, United States
Category: MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment)
Keyword 1: visual imagery
Objective:
Aphantasia is a recently coined term (2015) that describes the phenomenon of no to little mental imagery. When asked to “imagine” an object or scene in their mind, people with aphantasia either cannot create a mental image, or they generate a very dull depiction. This research was prompted by a myriad of behavioral observations, in which patients were no longer able to “picture” things in their mind. Since this concept is relatively understudied, research on the mechanisms behind aphantasia or its relationship to cognitive decline is lacking. This pilot study aims to gather preliminary data exploring whether this relationship exists by using the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), which is a frequently used questionnaire in aphantasia studies. We hypothesized that participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) would have significantly lower VVIQ total scores compared to healthy controls. This pilot study could be a catalyst for further research of various means (fMRI, structural MRI, further cognitive testing) to deduce if decreased imagery/aphantasia are early symptoms of MCI.
Participants and Methods:
A total of 13 subjects diagnosed with MCI and 15 cognitively normal control subjects, all ages 55 and over, were identified through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Cognitive Neurology Unit. Diagnoses were confirmed following neuropsychological evaluation. Immediately following cognitive testing, subjects were administered the VVIQ to assess level of aphantasia, and t-tests were utilized to identify significant differences between groups.
Results:
An independent, two-tailed t-test was run to analyze the relationship of VVIQ scores between groups. The VVIQ scores of MCI participants (M = 56.77, SD = 14.48) compared to controls (M = 68.2, SD = 6.65) demonstrated significantly lower scores, t(26) = -2.75, p = .01, d = 1.01. This study’s hypothesis was supported by the data. Lower VVIQ scores in subjects with MCI demonstrates reduced mental imagery may be an indicator of early cognitive decline.
Conclusions:
Though underlying etiology remains uncertain, articipants with MCI demonstrated lower VVIQ total scores compared to the normative sample. Thus, indicating that those with MCI have significantly lower visual imagery abilities than a similar normative cohort. These finding warrant further investigation of this relationship and whether underlying etiology is a significant contributor. Future research may involve determining if lost or diminished imagery can be an early indicator of MCI. Longitudinal studies would evaluate whether persistent imagery decline occurs in those with MCI, and in turn could determine if the VVIQ is a useful tool for assisting in neuropsychological assessment regarding MCI.
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