What is synaesthesia?

 

 

 

Synaesthesia is a mysterious condition affecting at least 4% of adults (Massy-Beresford, H 2014), whereby stimulation of one of the five senses simultaneously triggers an experience in an unrelated sense (Choi, C 2011). While new technology is enabling further research there is not yet a whole lot of information on the neurological reasoning behind this blending of the senses, however its profoundness is apparent in all areas of study.  In particular, it is apparent that this phenomenon within the brain, known as ‘synaesthesia’, can be utilised to bring people together and stimulate artistic passions such as music. This can be shown in the correlations between well-known synaesthetes, the social effects of understanding the phenomenon, and the links to creativity.

 

Where the word ‘anaesthesia’ points to no feeling, ‘synaesthesia’ indicates joined feelings and making associations between one or more of the different sensory mediums. For some, it is simply a way of life that is internal, automatic and involuntary (Big Think 2012). These people, whose sensory experiences overlap, are known as ‘synaesthetes’ (Preston, E 2013). While there are over 65 forms of synaesthesia (Higgins-Devine, K 2015), ‘grapheme-colour synaesthesia’ is the most common form (Choi, C 2011), where over-learnt sequences such as the alphabet and basic numbers correlate with a specific colour. It is unclear whether a true synaesthete sees this colouring in their actual vision or simply in the mind’s eye.

 

When it comes to other forms of synaesthesia, music commonly triggers a reaction of colour. Pitch, key, chords, melody, emotion and also timbre, can each trigger colours in the mind of a synaesthete. Even still, this ‘common’ kind known as ‘chromesthesia’ only affects about 1% of the entire world’s population (Synesthesia-test.com 2015).

 

Although much speculated, the origins and reasoning behind synaesthesia are very unsure and hypothetical. Choi, C (2011), however, reveals that the condition itself is caused by an extra amount of connections between the brain’s various sensory regions, and there is quite a genetic link since it is known to run through families (Higgins-Devine, K 2015). Usually a baby is normally born with synaesthesia until the neurons naturally separate after around 4-8 months. Thus, synaesthesia is potentially dormant in all of us and can sometimes resurface after the influence of drugs, such as mescalin and LSD (Choi, C 2011; Massy-Beresford, H 2014), or after brain damage resulting from a serious accident or illness (Higgins-Devine, K 2015).

 

One such example is Jason Padgett who became a mathematical savant, or ‘accidental genius’, after an attack resulting in damage to his brain. His new way of life includes seeing mathematical functions and equations in everything he sees (Karlinksy, N 2012). Because of this, and other such cases, scientists have suggested that there is a link between synaesthesia and ‘savantism’, which is “the remarkable expertise, ability or brilliance in one or more areas at times seen in people with autism or other mental disorders” (Choi, C 2011).