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Derek Arnold

@visnerd.bsky.social
447 followers 173 following 115 posts

Vision Scientist, Aphant

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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Sam Schwarzkopf @sampendu.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Happy to see @genetang.bsky.social's review article on Charles Bonnet Syndrom now available as early-online in Brain! #VisionScience #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky doi.org/10.1093/brai...
doi.org
The neural mechanisms of Charles Bonnet syndrome
Charles Bonnet syndrome is characterised by visual hallucinations that cannot be explained by any other cause in individuals with visual impairment. Tangta
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Main take home: there is currently no objective metric of aphantasia that could possibly identify Aphantasics at the individual level. We have some work to do.
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
@sampendu.bsky.social
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This is our summary of where we think the field of Aphantasia research stands. Congenital aphantasia: what we (think we) know, what we thought we knew but were mistaken about, and what we don't know. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Congenital aphantasia: what we (think we) know, what we thought we knew but were mistaken about, and what we don't know
Congenital Aphantasia initially described a lifelong inability to visualise. But it is now understood to manifest as imaginative inabilities that can …
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Nice work : )
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Icelandic Vision Lab @icevislab.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
🚨Paper alert🚨 Here we try to tackle the tricky problem of measuring the inherently private experiences of visual imagery. Now out and open access in Cortex: doi.org/10.1016/j.co... @heidasigurdar.bsky.social @arnig.bsky.social #imagery #visualimagery #visionscience #psychology #cogsci #aphantasia
doi.org
Redirecting
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Discerning colour / orientation combinations, by contrast, requires no more integration - presumably because these attribute are jointly encoded, and no binding / integration is necesary
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I also have a sneaking suspicion that akinetopsia may prove to be more common than we currently think. Turns out its consequences are quite subtle, so it might be akin to visual snow - with people who have it simply not realising that their experiences are unusual. But that is me hand flapping : )
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Demo #1 would almost def not work if M scaled. Insufficient work has been done, but stimuli like these could easily be manipulated, along with timing (Demos #6 & 7) to get accurate integration window estimates for colour/motion binding as a Fn of eccentricity. Alex H has done a lot of relevant work
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It's not the originally conceived problem. But there's very good evidence that discerning perceptual combinations of colour and movement relies on a more protracted integration than is necessary for either colour or motion in isolation. Call that binding, temporal integration, or whatever you like.
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Congrats Tijl - thats a HUGE and deserved achievement!
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Steady-state misbinding of colour and motion is invariant over time. It is a spatial error, not temporal.
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I strongly disagree that binding is achieved at the sensory surface. Humans can bind colours and movements to stereo defined surfaces, which can only be detected due to integrative processes in cortex. We can also detect stereo-defined motion.
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I am quite clear that the original description of the binding problem is likely wrong as colour & form signals can be direction-tuned. But perceptual binding of colour and motion requires more time than isolated colour or motion perception. So there's a time-consuming error prone integration process
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Could not agree more : )
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Assuming processes only spring into existence in the rare circumstances where they are obvious because they fail is a brave assumption. We have made more progress by building models to explain visual phenomena, which assume these processes are also active when perception is accurate
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
You could also argue that motion aftereffects and related phenomena are rare boundary conditions irrelevant to everyday vision. But our understanding of vision has been built on studies of these 'boundary' conditions. Processes are often only made obvious in the rare cases where they fail
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
If you have illusory perceptual couplings of colour and movement - misbinding - there are clearly processes that make 'binding' happen. Scholte argues that these can be ignored as they are rare 'boundary' conditions irrelevant to daily life. But that argument relies on assertion - not evidence.
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Seeing slow and seeing fast: two limits on perception
Video cameras have a single temporal limit set by the frame rate. The human visual system has multiple temporal limits set by its various constituent …
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Absolutely. I was trying to conform to the limits of a Short & Sweet submission, otherwise I would have added a lot more on temporal binding limits and attention. There is a lot of really good work and compelling demonstrations in that space
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
There are different demos. In video supplemental files accompanying the paper, colours were red and green. In the online webpage I put together they are blue and red. No logic. I just thought the blue looked nicer that day
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A recent paper argued that there is no visual binding problem. I disagree, and wrote a response... journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... Related demonstrations can be found here... staff.psy.uq.edu.au/~uqdarnol/JS...
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
We wrote a popular media piece to accompany the article theconversation.com/Do-your-drea...
theconversation.com
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Our latest article published in Scientific Reports examines the multisensory profile of dreams and waking imagined sensations in Aphantasia. We found a varied correspondence between dreamt and waking imagined experiences, suggesting a neurological diversity. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Heterogeneous relationships between the multisensory content of aphantasics’ dreams and their volitional waking imagined experiences - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Heterogeneous relationships between the multisensory content of aphantasics’ dreams and their volitional waking imagined experiences
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Well deserved.
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Some very good people and scientists in this photo.
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Australasian Society for Experimental Psychology @expsyanz.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Join us on 1 July, 12:00–3:15 PM, for the Synaesthesia Science & Community Forum. Explore the latest research in consciousness, sensory neuroscience, auditory cognition, and phenomenology through talks and discussion. See here for more details: visualneuroscience.auckland.ac.nz/epc-apcv-2026/
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
You rock - thank you!
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 22/06/2026
I adapted a scheduler app that was shared at VSS for this conference: apcvepc2026.netlify.app. Hope others find it useful in organising their time. (And thank you to Miyoung Kwon who created the app originally).
apcvepc2026.netlify.app
APCV / EPC 2026 Scheduler
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
The weak inter-relationship may be driven by poor face processing skills, which are common to both Aphantasia and Autism. This could either be a cause or a marker of difficulties with non-verbal communication skills.
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Nice to see this paper out. It shows that suggested links between Aphantasia and Autism have been overstated. But people with Autism on average report muted imagined sensations, and there is a weak link to Multisensory (but not visual) Aphantasia. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Autism and Aphantasia
Aphantasia is characterised by an inability to have volitional imagined sensations. While initially characterised as an inability to visualise, Aphant…
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
juhasilvanto.bsky.social @juhasilvanto.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Cardiac vagal reactivity predicts visual imagery vividness. This challenges traditional efferent accounts in which autonomic activation is merely a byproduct of imagery; rather, autonomic afferent input shapes visual imagery itself www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
One year, three of my students got vision science tattoos
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Australasian Society for Experimental Psychology @expsyanz.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Final days for Early Bird registration! Register now and take advantage of discounted pricing.
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Sam Schwarzkopf @sampendu.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
All speakers should have received information about the session & timings of their presentations at #epc-apcv-2026 by now! A preliminary (searchable) schedule is available on the website: visualneuroscience.auckland.ac.nz/epc-apcv-2026 Remember to register by the end of 15 May for early-bird rates!
visualneuroscience.auckland.ac.nz
EPC & APCV 2026
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Mark Greenlee @greenlee-markw.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Going to #VSS2026 this year? This mobile app organizes your schedule — 1,190 presentations searchable by title, author, abstract, day, etc. Export to Google or Apple Calendar. Works on iPhone and Android via the free Expo Go app. Just scan the QR code in the README: github.com/markwgreenle...
github.com
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Reminds me of a Douglas Adams quote, regarding how perfectly designed each puddle of water is to fit within the particular hole to which gravity has delivered that body of water...
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Nadine Dijkstra @nadinedijkstra.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Researching visual imagery? Consider submitting to this new cross-journal special issue on visual imagery at Nature Communications, Communications Psychology, and Scientific Reports! We welcome a broad range of topics and methods - more info below 👇 www.nature.com/collections/...
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
I’m doing this again next week. Pint of Science pintofscience.com.au/event/mind-t...
pintofscience.com.au
Minds in Motion
Shake up your Tuesday night.<br /> <br /> Pint of Science brings researchers into the pub to explore how our minds work, differ and change. From the way people experie…
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Even delayed, confirmatory evidence is welcome.
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Mike Le Pelley @mikelepelley.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
We're hiring! Looking for a postdoc to work at UNSW Sydney, studying impacts of reward and information on attention, using eye-tracking, EEG, and modelling - with Kelly Garner, Daniel Pearson and me. Application link below, please spread the word! external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...
external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au
Research Associate - Psychology
The Research Associate (Level A) is expected to contribute towards the research effort of UNSW and to develop their research expertise through the pursuit of defined projects relevant to their particu...
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Kate Storrs @katestorrs.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
We have over 100 abstracts submitted already and are expecting a big spike in these last couple of weeks! EPC/APCV are very rarely in NZ (last was 15yrs ago). If you're kiwi, this is a great opportunity for a nearby international conference. If you're not, this is your chance to see beautiful NZ :)
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Rodrigo Braga @rodbraga.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Our new paper on brain networks engaged during imagining is out now in Neuron! Here is a download link (free for 50 days): authors.elsevier.com/c/1msNE3BtfH... Congratulations to Nate Anderson for leading this work @rementurus.bsky.social 🧵
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Reposted by Derek Arnold
Sam Schwarzkopf @sampendu.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Happy to report that our survey study on the diversity with which people seem to experience their mental imagery is now published in RSOS :) doi.org/10.1098/rsos... I posted a longer thread summarising the findings some months ago when we first put out the preprint: bsky.app/profile/samp...
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
I. Would take it while it still exists. Many universities, including UQ, have dispensed either sabbatical. There is no guarantee there will be any such thing in 29
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Jianghao Liu @jianghaoliu.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
🔊 New preprint 🧠 for the first time we show congenital #aphantasia has physical brain anatomy alterations. Surprisingly, they have structurally intact #visual pathways. Structural alterations instead found in the fronto-temporal and cingulate systems. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵
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Imaging Neuroscience @imagingneurosci.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
New paper in Imaging Neuroscience by Hamid Karimi-Rouzbahani, Anina N. Rich, and Alexandra Woolgar: Spatiotemporal characterisation of information coding in the multiple demand network doi.org/10.1162/IMAG...
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
I don't care if you call the operations that lead to these impressions binding, or Big Bob's adventure in perception - so long as there is an attempt to explain the perceptual experience. I am not impressed by assertions we need not understand how these impressions form as they are somehow mistaken
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Another wrong assertion that feature integration is a motivated assertion. I just want to understand why things look as they do, and I am aware of a bunch of situations where things look as they do as incorrect combinations are combined in perception. That's observation not a mistaken starting point
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Derek Arnold @visnerd.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
You and I both : ) ECVP?
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