ABSTRACT
This chapter argues the assumption of an analogy between visual memory and visual mental imagery, on the basis of an analysis of the differences in the underlying processes and of a distinction between different types of visual memories and of visual mental images. A generated image is the result of conceptual processes, retrieving and organising long-term information into an image buffer. The chapter explains the difference between visual trace (VT) and generated image (GI). The difference between VT and GI, the VT is directly received from perception, whereas the GI is generated from long-term memory, for this reason in the first case the role of long-term memory is marginal, and in the second one it is, substantial. The VT is less affected than the GI by developmental variations. The results confirm the hypothesis that mental imagery is a complex process, originating from long-term memory knowledge, which cannot be treated as a simple analogical by-product of visual perception.
