Blind people do dream, and they can experience visual images in their dreams, but the content of their dreams can be different from those of sighted people. Blind people who were born blind or became blind early in life do not experience visual imagery when they dream. However, people who lost their sight later in life can retain some visual imagery when they dream, but less so than sighted individuals. Blind peoples dreams are drawn from memories stored in the brain and from brain circuitry developed while experiencing the outside world. Therefore, even though a person who lost their vision may be currently blind, their brain is still able to draw on visual memories and related brain circuits that were formed before they went blind.

People who were born blind or became blind early in life dream more often and more intensely in sounds, smells, and touch sensations. They probably do not experience detailed visual images of actual objects such as apples or chairs while dreaming. Rather, they probably see spots or blobs of color floating around or flashing, which may even correlate meaningfully to the other senses. For instance, a dream of a police car siren sound traveling from the left to the right may be accompanied by the visual sensation of a spot of color traveling from the left to the right at the same speed. Blind people are also more likely to have certain types of dreams, such as dreams involving movement, and they experience more sensations of sound, touch, taste, and smell than sighted people do.