Consciousness and Cognition

While autism and ADHD are distinct medical profiles, they frequently co-occur with aphantasia because of alternative sensory processing configurations and executive routing.

In the peer-reviewed study, What is the Relationship Between Aphantasia, Synesthesia, and Autism?, published in Consciousness and Cognition, Dance and colleagues, 2021, identified elevated statistical trends, such as higher average scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient, AQ, and roughly a twenty percent increase in self-reported autistic traits among aphantasiac cohorts.

Mechanically, when a brain bypasses visual simulation, it relies entirely on semantic, logical, or linguistic data structures.

Combined with the working memory bottlenecks and sensory differences inherent to autism spectrum condition and ADHD, the brain processes internal and external data through different pathways, explaining why these traits so frequently cluster together.

Okay, so J. Allen Chain et al.

in an article for Consciousness and Cognition argue that there are three types of sleep paralysis nightmares.

Intruder, Incubus, and Unusual Bodily Experiences.

Intruder is defined by a perceived presence, Incubus by breathing difficulties and pressure on the chest, and Unusual Bodily Experiences by a sense of floating or feelings of... bliss.