Memory · Mental Imagery · Counterfactual Thinking
Anjou Sharma
Studying how we remember what happened and imagine what didn't.
About
I'm a Lab Manager, Research Assistant, and SSNAP Coordinator at Duke University's Imagination and Modal Cognition (IMC) Lab, working under Felipe De Brigard at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience. My work centers on how people remember, and more specifically, what changes when the visual imagery that usually accompanies memory is diminished or absent, as in aphantasia.
I hold a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in Philosophy and Computer Science from the University of Miami (2022), where my undergraduate research spanned transdiagnostic youth mental health treatment and computational moral cognition.
I'm currently preparing applications for a PhD in Neuroscience, targeting Fall 2027 admission.
Current Research
A selection of the projects I'm designing, running, or contributing statistical and operational work to.
Memory Without Mental Images: Aphantasia & Virtual Reality
A VR-based study dissociating the quantity, accuracy, and metacognitive awareness of episodic recall in individuals with aphantasia and hypophantasia, compared to controls, across immersive kitchen and living-room environments.
Forgiveness and Autobiographical Memory
Investigating phenomenological and physiological differences between forgiven and unforgiven remembered wrongdoings, and how reappraisal strategies shape the emotions experienced when recalling autobiographical memories of wrongdoing.
Publications & Presentations
-
Sharma, A., De Brigard, F., Boere, K., Krempel, R., & Blomkvist, A. (2026, April 10). Memory Without Mental Images: Dissociating Quantity, Accuracy, and Metacognition in Aphantasia and Hypophantasia Using Virtual Reality [Poster]. Triangle Society for Neuroscience 2026 Meeting, Raleigh, NC.
-
Sharma, A., Blomkvist, A., Krempel, R., Walsh, E., Boere, K., & De Brigard, F. (2026, March 7–10). Memory Without Imagery: Episodic Recall and Meta-Cognitive Performance in Individuals with Aphantasia [Poster]. Cognitive Neuroscience Society 33rd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC.
-
Fernández-Miranda, G., Faul, L., Alvarez, S., Martínez, M. J., Robelo, D., Sharma, A., et al., De Brigard, F. (2026, March 7–10). Phenomenological and Physiological Differences Between Forgiven and Not Forgiven Remembered Wrongdoings in Samples from Colombia and the United States [Poster]. Cognitive Neuroscience Society 33rd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC.
-
Robelo, D., Rivadeneira, G., Sharma, A., Fernández-Miranda, G., Santiago, A., & De Brigard, F. (2025, July 25). The Effect of Reappraisal Strategies on the Emotions Experienced when Remembering Autobiographical Memories of Wrongdoings and their Relation to Forgiveness [Poster]. Summer Research Showcase, Duke University.
-
Krishna, A., Tai, M., Sharma, A., & Cousins, C. (2025, April 24). Markov Decision Process of Charitable Donations [Poster]. Cognitive Neuroscience Research Internship Poster Showcase, Duke University.
-
Sharma, A., Grassie, H., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2022, March 18). Using an Idiographic Outcome Measure to Assess the Effectiveness of Telemedicine Delivery of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Youth [Poster]. ADAA Anxiety and Depression Conference, Denver, CO.
-
Sharma, A., Grassie, H., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2021, November 19). Is the Problem the Solution: Evaluating Idiosyncratic Treatment Outcomes in a Transdiagnostic Youth Sample [Poster]. ABCT 55th Annual Convention SIG Poster Expo, New York, NY.remote
-
Sharma, A., Grassie, H., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2021, July 19). Is the Problem the Solution: Evaluating Idiosyncratic Treatment Outcomes in a Transdiagnostic Youth Sample [3-minute thesis]. PRIME Summer Research, Coral Gables, FL.
-
Sharma, A., Grassie, H., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2021, April 23). Is the Problem the Solution: Evaluating Idiosyncratic Treatment Outcomes in a Transdiagnostic Youth Sample [3-minute thesis]. Research Creativity Innovation Forum, Coral Gables, FL.
-
Sharma, A., Grassie, H., & Ehrenreich-May, J. (2021, April 26–30). Is the Problem the Solution: Evaluating Idiosyncratic Treatment Outcomes in a Transdiagnostic Youth Sample [Poster]. Research Celebration, Coral Gables, FL.canceled
-
Sutcliffe, G., & Sharma, A. (2021, May 25). Automated Theorem Proving: Morality Machine [Presentation]. Automated Reasoning with Legal Entities, Luxembourg.remote
Beyond Research
Outside the lab, I enjoy designing and developing software, reading and writing fictional romances, and creating educational resources, including a guided journal designed to help readers better understand and engage with scientific research.
BloomLaunching October 6, 2026
A daily visualization and behavior-change app translating published mental-imagery and self-regulation research—mental rehearsal (Pham & Taylor, 1999), WOOP (Oettingen & Mayer, 2002), loving-kindness practice (Fredrickson et al., 2008)—into a guided, source-cited practice. Entries are end-to-end encrypted client-side, with a global feed, follower counts, and algorithmic ranking now in development alongside today's invite-only groups.
Bloom where you're planted. Small practice, real change. Visualize it. Then build it. Growth isn't linear. Neither is blooming. Plant the thought. Tend it daily.
Wealth WifeIn development
Wealth Wife is an iOS app that makes self-assigned valuations explicit.
Its design draws on opportunity-cost neglect (Frederick et al., 2009), mental accounting (Thaler, 1985, 1999), and research relating future-self continuity to temporal discounting (Ersner-Hershfield, Wimmer, & Knutson, 2009). By linking everyday activities to self-assigned monetary values and named goals, the app renders opportunity costs explicit and invites users to consider alternative uses of their resources. These are theoretical motivations for the design; the app’s effects on how people value activities, weigh alternatives, and allocate resources have not been established.
For Future You. Monetize your time.
Research Guide JournalAvailable now
A guided journal for understanding research papers
A printed journal for reading scientific papers by hand—teaching pages on evaluating evidence and comparing studies, paired with reusable worksheets for taking research notes.
Get the journal →Contact
