Auditory imagery is a form of
mental imagery that is used to organize and analyze sounds when there is no external auditory stimulus present. This form of imagery is broken up into a couple of auditory modalities such as verbal imagery or musical imagery. This modality of mental imagery differs from other sensory images such as
motor imagery or
visual imagery. The vividness and detail of auditory imagery can vary from person-to-person depending on their background and condition of their brain. Through all of the research developed to understand auditory imagery
behavioral neuroscientists have found that the auditory images developed in subject’s minds are generated in real time and consist of fairly precise information about quantifiable auditory properties as well as
melodic and
harmonic relationships. These studies have been able to recently gain confirmation and recognition due to the arrival of
Positron emission tomography and
fMRI scans that can confirm a
physiological and
psychological correlation.