Key research themes
1. How does mental imagery relate to perception in terms of neural and cognitive mechanisms?
This research area investigates the extent of overlap or distinction between mental imagery and perception in both neural substrates and cognitive processing. Clarifying this relation is critical because many theoretical frameworks, including predictive processing accounts, posit imagery and perception share mechanisms or even are unified processes. Contrasting evidence from brain lesion, neurophysiology, and cognitive studies inform debate around perceptualism—the claim that imagination is a subset of perceptual experience—and the degree to which mental imagery depends on or diverges from perceptual processing.
2. What are the phenomenological and cognitive characteristics of mental imagery in emotion, memory, and conscious thought?
This theme focuses on the nature of mental imagery as it relates to emotional experience, memory recall, and conscious thinking. It investigates how imagery influences affective memory and 'as if' emotional states, the role of mental imagery in decision making and conscious will, and whether conscious thoughts necessarily involve mental images or can be non-imagistic. These studies contribute to understanding the cognitive and phenomenological architectures underlying imagery’s role in emotional regulation, memory source monitoring, and conscious mental life.
3. How do embodied, enactive, and action-based theories explain the generation and function of mental imagery?
This line of inquiry examines mental imagery from embodied cognition, enactivist, and sensorimotor theoretical perspectives, emphasizing the interconnectedness of perception, action, and cognition. It contrasts representationalist and anti-representationalist views, explores the sensorimotor contingencies involved in imagery, and addresses the ecological validity and functional significance of imagery in action simulation and motor rehabilitation. This research advances an integrated understanding of imagery as a dynamic, embodied process rather than static internal representation.