Jianghao Liu

Welcome! Let me guide you through my research journey.

I am a cognitive neuroscientist interested in topics on mental imagery, aphantasia and consciousness.

My aim is to understand brain cognitive functions using advanced neuroimaging techniques such as 7T functional MRI, diffusion imaging, human intracranial recording, direct cortical stimulation, magnetoencephalography (MEG), and computational modeling.

I have obtained my Ph.D in Cognitive Neuroscience from Sorbonne University in late 2023 after 4 years at Paris Brain Institute. My doctoral work mainly focused on 7T fMRI studies of visual mental imagery, and also included spatiotemporal dynamics of the interaction between attention and consciousness.

I’m now working with Stanislas Dehaene at Collège de France in Paris, pursuing my journey to understand human cognition using ultra-high field MRI (≥ 7 tesla).

Below, you’ll find my latest updates, recent publications Google Scholar, some Research blogs, social media links (many pages are still under construction).

Recently, i have summarized the work on imagery and aphantasia in a theoretical paper: A neural model of conscious mental imagery and aphantasia. You can also watch a recorded talk and a blog about it. This is the first neuro-mechanistic model bridging research on imagery and consciousnes.

Since 2024, I co-founded IRCA which is “Interdisciplinary Reading Club of Aphantasia”. We are looking for potential future speakers and welcome all researchers who may be interested, from fields of neuroscience, psychology, phisolophy of mind etc. The IRCA and its collaborators are planning to organise a conference on aphantasia in Glasgow, UK, in 2026. Stay tuned!

Feel free to reach out for any ideas or suggestions of collaboration —I’d love to connect!

My academic path began with a background in mechanical engineering diplomed at Arts et Métiers ParisTech, which later transitionned me to BioMedical engeering, driven by a fascination for the brain’s inner workings.

I also enjoy discussing with participants of my experiments, artists, philosophers, and more. In 2023, we have held a workshop on Synesthesia and imagination in Paris with 25 researchers from various fields including philosophers, musiciens, scientific researchers.

If you have few minutes to evaluate your mental imagery, here is a online test that we recently developped (~20 min) with the link here (you need to do it on your phone, not on labtop).