Anendophasia
Anendophasia is a term for the absence of inner speech, or an internal monologue, that many people experience as self-talk. It is not a disorder but a variation in thinking, where individuals may process thoughts through images, feelings, or a different non-verbal means. People with anendophasia may find tasks requiring verbal working memory and rhyme judgments more difficult, though this absence of inner speech does not affect all cognitive processes.
What it is:
- Absence of inner voice: The term, from Greek roots meaning “without inner speech” (an- + endo- + phasia), describes the lack of this familiar internal dialogue.
- A different way of thinking: It’s a neurological variation where people don’t experience a constant internal monologue, instead processing thoughts through other means, like mental imagery.
- A spectrum of experience: Inner speech is not universal; its intensity varies from constant to non-existent. Anendophasia refers to the lower end of this spectrum, or complete absence.
Cognitive consequences:
- Impact on verbal tasks: Research has shown that individuals with low levels of inner speech (anendophasia) may perform worse on tasks that rely heavily on verbal working memory and rhyme judgments.
- Selective effects: The absence of an inner voice does not negatively impact all cognitive functions; for instance, task-switching abilities are often unaffected.
Examples of thinking in anendophasia:
- Instead of hearing words, some individuals with anendophasia may visualize a mental “video” of information.
- Others might think in images and convert these to words only when necessary.
- Some describe their minds as not connecting to a mental microphone or speaker, lacking a typical internal voice.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://neurosciencenews.com/anendophasia-inner-voice-memory-26107/
[2] https://www.mindshiftwellnesscenter.com/the-silent-inner-voice-understanding-anendophasia/
[3] https://myneurobalance.com/inside-the-quiet-mind-understanding-anendophasia/
[5] https://neurosciencenews.com/anendophasia-inner-speech-26087/
[6] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976241243004