Visual imagery vividness and mental rotation of characters: An event related potentials study

Recent behavioural evidence suggests that differences in the vividness of visual imagery (VVI) affect the way in which mental rotation (MR) tasks are accomplished. However, the role of VVI in MR tasks is still debated. We explored it using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) which allow to track the time course of MR processes with high temporal resolution. We assigned participants to two different groups based on their VVI and compared the rotation-related negativity (RRN), the electrophysiological correlate of MR. Accuracy did not differ in the two groups. However, the RRN offset was delayed in lower as compared to higher VVI individuals. The processing of MR as indexed by the RRN is longer in individuals with lower VVI, providing direct evidence for a role of VVI in MR processing.