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Anendophasia is the absence of an inner monologue, a phenomenon affecting a small portion of the population. This absence of internal dialogue can influence verbal memory and problem-solving abilities in unique ways.

Understanding Anendophasia

Between 5% and 10% of people do not experience a continuous inner dialogue. Recent studies suggest that those without an inner voice may struggle more with tasks involving verbal memory. The term anendophasia describes this condition, which remains largely enigmatic. However, new research has begun to shed light on its implications.

A team led by linguist Dr. Johanne Nedergård from the University of Copenhagen conducted a series of experiments to explore the behavioral consequences of having or lacking an inner monologue. Their study included 46 participants with low levels of inner speech and 47 with high levels.

Verbal Memory and Rhyming Tasks

In one experiment, participants had to remember words that sounded similar, such as "bought," "caught," "taut," and "wart." The results showed that those without an inner voice had more difficulty recalling these words. This finding supports the hypothesis that inner speech aids in verbal memory retention.

Another experiment required participants to identify rhyming words from pairs of pictures. Again, people with less inner speech performed worse. This suggests that the ability to internally repeat and compare sounds is crucial for recognizing rhymes.

Task-Switching and Perceptual Discrimination

The researchers also tested participants' abilities to switch between different tasks quickly and to distinguish between similar figures. In these tasks, there was no significant difference in performance between those with and without an inner monologue. This indicates that anendophasia primarily affects verbal tasks rather than cognitive flexibility or perceptual skills.