RP291 Synesthesia

RP291 Synesthesia

Is October yellow? Does your breakfast taste pointy? Is the smell of soap itchy? To a person with synesthesia, all these questions might make sense.

Synesthesia is a condition in which senses or perceptions are connected in unusual ways. In terms of the brain, it means when one sense is stimulated, an unrelated one is also triggered. These associations are automatic, not thought out or planned. Most people with synesthesia don't recognize that they are different for a long time.

A common form of synesthesia is grapheme-color synesthesia. For these synesthetes, letters or numbers are colored."A" may always be blue, while 1984 might be pinkish. "Linguistics is a grayish-purple-blue word," says Karen, one synesthete.

There are less common, more unusual versions as well. The Man Who Tasted Shapes is a book about different synesthetes, including one who indeed associated different shapes and tastes. People can connect sounds with odors or textures, or dates with places in space. A rare form of synesthesia links personalities with numbers, letters, or other concepts. Each synesthete is unique, so while many people may perceive numbers as colors, they will not agree, for example, that four is green.

No one is sure how synesthesia works. Scientists speculate that the brain becomes cross-wired, with parts of the brain that are supposed to stay in one area crossing into another. Synesthesia doesn't seem to have any negative effects on the brain. Synesthetes are as smart as everyone else. Indeed, many tests show that synesthetes have better memories than the average population for some reason.

Synesthesia seems to affect certain groups of people more than others. It seems to run in families. More women than men, and more people who are left-handed than right-handed have it. Many famous artists and composers have turned out to be synesthetes. Perhaps seeing the world in such a different way is inspiring!