April is Yellow by Gabriella Hale

is yellow an exploration of synesthesia

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. Friedrich Nietzsche

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (crop) Georges Seurat, 1884—1886 6’ 10” x 10’ 1”, Art Institute of Chicago

Introduction

Overview

Grapheme-Color

Chromesthesia

Number-Form

Auditory-Tactile

Ordinal Linguistic Personification

Spatio Temporal

Lexical-Gustatory

Mirror-Touch

Misophonia

Famous Synesthetes

Diagnosis

Art + Literature Applications

Are We All Synesthtes?

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When you eat chicken, does it feel pointy or is it more round?

Is a week shaped like a tipped-over D with the days arranged counterclockwise? Does the note B taste like horseradish? Do you get confused about appointments because Tuesday and Thursday have the same color? Do you go to the wrong train station in New York City because Grand Central has the same color as the 42nd Street address of Penn Station? When you read a newspaper or listen to someone speaking do you see a rainbow of colors? If so, you might have synesthesia. Synesthesia is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Synesthetes hear colors, feel sounds and taste shapes. A rather striking is that such synesthetes all seem to experience very different colors for the same graphemic cues. Different synesthetes may see three in yellow, pink or red.

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The estimated occurrence of synesthesia ranges from rarer than one in 20,000 to as prevalent as one 200. Of the various manifestations of, the most common seeing monochromatic, and words in unique colorsthis is called. Perplexing is that synesthetes typically report seeing both the color the character is printed in as well as their synesthetic color. For example, is both blue (real color) and light green.

synesthetes wer having overactiv Synesthetes report having unusually good memory for things such as phone numbers, security codes and polysyllabic anatomical terminology because digits, letters and syllables take on such a unique panoply of colors. But synesthetes also report making computational errors because six and eight have the same color and claim to prejudge couples they meet because the colors of their first names clash so hideously. For too long, synesthetes were dismissed as having overactive imaginations, confusing memo-

like horseradish? Do you get confused about appointments because Tuesday and Thursday have the same color? Do you go to the wrong train station in New York City because Grand Central has the same color as the 42nd Street address of Penn Station?

esthesia ries for perceptions or taking metaphorical speech far too literally. Research has documented that synesthetic colors are perceived in much the same way that

re dismissed as ve imaginations. nonsynesthetic individuals perceive real colors. Thus, synesthetic color differences can facilitate performance on tasks in which real color facilitate performance for nonsynesthetes and can impair performance on in which real color differences impair performance people aresynesthetic color differences can facilitate when asked to say the color of ink a word is printed. making errors because six and eight have the same. Is a week shaped like a tipped-over D with the days arranged counterclockwise? Does the note B taste

When you read a newspaper or listen to someone speaking do you see a rainbow of colors? If so, you might have synesthesia. Synesthesia is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Thus, synesthetic color differences can facilitate performance on tasks in which real color facilitate performance for nonsynesthetes and can impair performance on in which real color differences impair performancpeople aresynesthetic color differences can facilitate asked to say the color of the ink a word is printed.making computational errors because six and eight have the same.

The number “6” is a bright shade of pink. Listening to a cello smells like chocolate. And eating a slice of pizza creates a tickling sensation on the back of your neck. If you have experiences like this, you may be one of the special people with an unusual sensory condition. It is known as synesthesia (pronounced Sin-uhsTHEE-zha). People with synesthesia experience a “blending” of their senses when they see, smell, taste, touch or hear. Such people have specially wired brains. As a result, when something trkggers one of the five senses, another sense also responds. This blending can cause people to see sound, smell colors or taste shapes. Dozens of different sensory combinations exist. In the most common form, numbers, letters or even days of the week appear in their own distinct color.

If you’ve encountered these types of events, you’re not alone. Scientists say as many as one in every 200 people may be a synesthete, as people with this condition are called. The phenomenon is known to run in families, and may occur more often among women than men. Many famous people have had synesthesia. Among them were Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov and physicist Richard Feynman. One thing is certain; most synesthetes treasure their unusual ability to take in the world with an additional sense. After all, who wouldn’t want to experience the world in full, glorious color or sound? “It’s absolutely a positive experience,” says Patricia Lynn Duffy. She is a synesthete who has talked to hundreds of others with the condition while writing a book on the subject. “If you proposed to take away someone’s synesthetic ability, I think they would say, ‘No, I like it this way.’’

Most synesthetes learn about their amazing gift by accident. They are surprised to learn that everyone does not experience the world as they do. Though it may sound strange to many people, Duffy says the experiences are not scary. The people who have synesthesia have always experienced life that way. “For as long as I could remember, each letter of the alphabet had a different and distinct color. This is just part of the way alphabet letters look to me,” says Duffy. “Until I was 16, I took it for granted that shared those perceptions with me.”

In rare cases, synesthetes report that their experiences can lead to a degree of sensory overload. Synesthetes do not actively think about their perceptions — they just happen. Some synesthetes report that they see such colors internally, in “the mind’s eye.” Others, such as Duffy, see their visions projected in front of them, like watching an image on a movie screen. Scientists know that in synesthesia, those colors are real. They are not just figments of an active imagination. How? Studies show that the colors synesthetes see are highly specific and consistent over time. If the letter “b” is lime green, it will always be lime green. Studies done in the mid-1990s showed that synesthesia also can be measured by brain-scanning techniques. For synesthetes who perceive colors when hearing words, a certain part of the brain involved with vision is active in response to sound. That type of activity didn’t occur in people

who experience each sense separately. So how can the sound of a musical instrument lead to color? Scientists are still trying to discover exactly how information from the senses merge together in the brain. But this much is known: Messages gathered from the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and nerves involved in the sense of touch travel to the brain for processing. But this much is known: Messages gathered from the eyes, ears, mouth, nose and nerves involved in the sense of touch travel to the brain for processing. Much of this sensory processing occurs in an area of the brain called the cortex. It is the outermost part of the brain that organizes and enables us to respond to incoming messages. Information from each of our senses is first processed in its own special region. It’s then sent on to “higher” regions in the cortex for further processing. At certain points in the brain, these various senses converge. One theory is that synesthesia may be caused by some “cross-wiring” between areas of the brain that process different sensations, such as color, or taste. This theory draws on the fact children are born with many nerve between nearby parts of the brain.

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apheme Grapheme-color synesthesia or colored grapheme synesthesia is a form of synesthesia in which an individual’s perception of numerals and letters is associated with the experience of colors. Like all forms of synesthesia, Grapheme-color synesthesia is involuntary, consistent, and memorable. [1][not in citation given] Grapheme-color synesthesia is one of the most common forms of synesthesia, and because of the extensive knowledge of the visual system, one of the most studied. While it is extremely unlikely that any two synesthetes will report the same colors for all letters and numbers, studies of large numbers of synesthetes find that there are some commonalities across letters (e.g., “A” is likely to be red). Early studies argued that grapheme-color synesthesia was not due to associative learning, such as from playing with colored refrigerator magnets. However, one recent study has documented a case of synesthesia in which synesthetic associations could be traced back to colored refrigerator magnets. Despite the existence of this individual case, the majority of synesthetic associations do not seem to be driven by learning of this sort.

Perception of numerals and letters is associated with the experience of colors.

Rather, it seems that more frequent letters are paired with more frequent colors, and some meaning-based rules, such as ‘b’ being blue.

Early studies argued that grapheme color synesthesia was not due to associative learning, such as from playing with colored refrigerator magnets. Early studies argued that grapheme-color synesthesia was not due to associative learning, such as from playing with colored magnets. However, one recent study has documented a case of synesthesia in which synesthetic associations could be traced back to colored refrigerator magnets. Despite the existence of this individual case, the majority of synesthetic associations do not seem to be driven by learning of this sort. Rather, it seems that more frequent letters are paired with more frequent colors, and some meaning-based rules, such as ‘b’ being blue, drive most synesthetic associations. There has been a lot more research as to why and how synesthesia occurs with more recent technology and as synesthesia has become more well known. It has been found that grapheme-color synesthetes have more grey matter in their brain. There is evidence of an increased grey matter volume in the left caudal intra-parietal sulcus (IPS). There was also found to be an increased grey matter volume in the right fusiform gyrus. Rather, it seems that more frequent letters are paired with more frequent colors, and some meaning-based rules, such as ‘b’ being blue, drive most synesthetic associations.

Rather, it seems that more frequent letters are paired with more frequent colors, and some meaing based rules, such as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; being blue, drive most synesthetic associations. 12

Grapheme-color synesthesia or colored grapheme synesthesia is a form of synesthesia in which an individual’s perception of numerals and letters is associated with the experience of colors. Like all forms of synesthesia, Grapheme-color synesthesia is involuntary, consistent, and memorable. [1][not in citation given] Grapheme-color synesthesia is one of the most common forms of synesthesia, and because of the extensive knowledge of the visual system, one of the most studied. While it is extremely unlikely that any two synesthetes will report the same colors for all letters and numbers, studies of large numbers of synesthetes find that there are some commonalities across letters (e.g., “A” is likely to be red). Early studies argued that grapheme-color synesthesia was not due to associative learning, such as from playing with colored refrigerator magnets. However, one recent study has documented a case of synesthesia in which synesthetic associations could be traced back to colored refrigerator magnets. Despite the existence of this individual case, the majority of synesthetic associations do not seem to be driven by learning of this sort. Rather, it seems that more frequent letters are paired with more frequent colors, and some meaning-based rules, such as ‘b’ being blue, drive most synesthetic associations. There has been a lot more research as to why and how synesthesia occurs with more recent technology and as synesthesia has become more well known. It has been found that grapheme-color synesthetes have more grey matter in their brain. There is evidence of an increased grey matter volume in the left caudal intra- parietal sulcus (IPS). There was also found to be an increased grey matter volume in the right fusiform gyrus.

It seems that more frequent letters are paired with more frequent colors, and some meaning-based rules, such as ‘b’ being blue, drive most synesthetic associations. Early studies argued that grapheme-color synesthesia was not due to associative learning, such as from playing with colored refrigerator magnets. However, one recent study has a case of synesthesia in which synesthetic be traced back to colored refrigerator magnets. Despite the existence of this individual case, the majority of do not seem to be driven by learning of sort. Rather, it seems that more frequent letters are paired with more colors, and some meaning-based rules, such as ‘b’ being blue, drive most. There has been a lot more research as to why and how synesthesia occurs with more recent technology and as synesthesia has become more well known. It has been found that color synesthetes have more grey matter in their brain.

Surface-projectors are synesthetes who experience color projected onto the written typeface: Scarlett Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. In her face were too sharply blended the delicate features of her mother, a Coast aristocrat of French descent, and the heavy ones of her florid Irish father. But it was an arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw. Her eyes were pale green without a touch of hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and slightly tilted at the ends.

Thomas J. Palmeri, Randolph B. Blake and Ren Marois of the psychology department and the Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience at Vanderbilt University study synesthesia. They provide the following explanation: “When you eat chicken, does it feel pointy or round? Is a week shaped like a tippedover D with the days arranged counterclockwise? Does the note B taste like horseradish? Do you get confused about appointments because Tuesday and Thursday have the same color? “Do you go to the wrong train station in New York City because Grand Central has the same color as the 42nd Street address of Penn Station? When you read a newspaper or listen to someone speaking do you see a rainbow of colors? If so, you might have synesthesia.” Synesthesia is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces in a different modality. Synesthetes hear colors, feel sounds and taste shapes. Some people, however, do have a definite color connected to particular letters and numbers in their minds. The association seems obvious to that person, who will speak about that color association as if it were normal. They might comment about the colors in which letters appear to them (‘I don’t like the color that a 7 is’). This sort of person can easily pick out similarly-shaped letters or numbers in a pattern, because they see a 3, an E, and an 8, for example, in different colors. This condition, in which the brain automatically associates letters and numbers with specific colors, is called grapheme-color synesthesia. (Grapheme combines ‘graph’, which means symbol, with the suffix ‘-eme,’ which refers to a structural language unit.

Synesthesia combines ‘syn,’ which refers to a connection, with ‘aesthesis,’ which refers to the senses). Combining the words, grapheme-color synesthesia refers to the perception of language symbols being associated to a sensation of colors. Synesthesia is a neurological condition that causes activation of one sense (for seeing a picture of a tree) to automatically trigger another, unrelated sense (such as oranges or hearing music). Both sensory inputs seem to happen at the same time. Grapheme-color synesthesia is a form of synesthesia. When it occurs, the mind automatically connects specific colors to particular numbers, letters, and words. The experience is quite memorable, an association in the person’s mind. What makes synesthesia different from drug-induced hallucinations is that synesthetic sensations are highly: for particular synesthetes, the note F is a reddish shade of rust, a 3 is always pink or truck is blue. The estimated occurrence of synesthesia ranges from rarer than one in 20,000 as prevalent as one in 200. Of the various manifestations of synesthesia, the most common involves seeing monochromatic letters, digits and words in grapheme color synesthesia. One rather striking observation is that such synesthetes all seem to experience very different colors for the same cues. Different synesthetes may see 3 in yellow, pink or red. Such synesthetic colors are not elicited by meaning, because may be orange but two is blue and 7 may be red but seven is green. Even more is that synesthetes typically report both the color the character is printed in as well as their synesthetic color. Although the colors that different synesthetes associate with letters, numbers, or

groups of written symbols differ between people, they tend to be consistent for a given individual. If you associate the color blue with the number 3, then you tend to always make the same symbol-color association, which makes it easy for you to find 3’s, unless they are surrounded by other symbols (perhaps the letter F or the word ‘freedom’) that your mind also associates with a similar shade of blue. Note that people affected by grapheme-color synesthesia will not necessarily associate a 3 and the word ‘three’ with the same color, which can certainly be cause for confusion when discussing the condition. Ask them what color 3 is, and you will get a different answer than if you ask them what color ‘three’ is. It is important to understand that although some people (‘projector-synesthetes’) will actually see the color on the printed page when it is not there, many people (‘association-synesthetes’) merely see the color in their mind. Black letters

and numbers look black to them in the physical environment, but will nevertheless carry the color connection in their minds when they see or think about those specific letters or numbers. Grapheme-color synesthesia can be very useful. For example, if you are doing one of those puzzles that provides a dense array of similar-looking numbers and letters, the correct answers will stand out for you, because they will be a different color. Grade school classrooms often display posters of brightly-colored letters and numbers along the walls. All of the figures are perfectly formed, and are filled with brilliant, bold ink. It is important to understand that although some people a child visiting the classroom might become firmly convinced that the number 1 and the letter A are both supposed to be red, unaware that the colors were merely added to make the letter or number more attractive or interesting.

In the diagram above, increased activity is evidenced by lighter colors, and while the brain of the non-synesthete shows no activity in the region of the brain associated with processing color information, that of the synesthete does.

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chrom esthe sia Perception of music and sound is associated with colors.

Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia is a type of synesthesia in which heard sounds automatically and involuntarily evoke an experience of color. For the purpose of disambiguation, this article will refer to this chromesthesia in inducer-concurrent terms used to describe other forms of synesthesia. With sounds inducing color concurrents, chromesthesia is more accurately termed sound-color synesthesia. Individuals with sound-color synesthesia are consciously aware of their synesthetic color associations. Synesthetes that perceive color while listening to music experience the colors in addition to the normal auditory sensations that would be triggered in the average person. That is, the synesthetic color experience supplements, but does not obscure reality.

thetic individuals. While this description of synesthesia is useful in describing the condition to laypeople, it should not be interpreted literally and used as selection criteria for scientific exploration. Another commonly used defining characteristic for synesthesia is that synesthetic associations are co That is, the synesthetic color experience supplements, but does not obscure real nsistent over time. This is

Consistency has been described as so fundamental to synesthesia that the test of consistency has become the behavioral gold standard for determining the genuineness of the condition.

synesthesia are consciously aware of their synesthetic color associations/perceptions in daily life. Synesthetes that perceive color while listening to music experience the colors in addition to the normal auditory sensations that would be triggered in the average person. That is, the synesthetic color experience supplements, but does not obscure real, modality-specific perceptions. With sounds inducing color concurrents, chromesthesia is more accurately termed sound-color synesthesia. The literature contains several conflicting assumptions regarding the definitional criteria of synesthesia, which in turn may bias selection of research subjects and interpretation of results. Synesthesia has long been described as a ‘merging of the senses’ or as a kind of ‘cross-sensory’ experience; however, the condition is not purely sensory/perceptual in all synes-

generally determined by having individuals report color pairings twice, with several months separating the test from the re-test. Consistency has been described as so fundamental to synesthesia that the test of consistency has become the behavioral ‘gold standard’ for determining the genuineness of the condition, and selecting subjects for research. This creates a circular bias, in which virtually all subjects in research show high consistency over time as they have been. Another misleading defining characteristic of synesthesia has been that synesthetic concurrents are spatially extended, and the individuals should be able to indicate a Synesthesia has long been describedlor experieal the senses’ or as a kind of in which concurrents are spatially extended the concurrent is experienced. In the case of sound-color synesthesia, those who experience colored photisms from listening or synesthesia.

Suppose you’re at a concert with a friend who leans over and whispers in your ear, “What color was that music?” It may seem like a strange question, but there are some people for whom the answer is entirely self-evident, and perhaps your friend is among them. Such individuals have a neurological condition called “sound-tocolor synesthesia,” or “chromesthesia,” in which they effortlessly and spontaneously experience their own personal light show while hearing music and other sounds. Interestingly, many chromesthetes grow up assuming that everyone has the same visual responses to sounds as they do, and are shocked when they discover this is not so! Chromesthesia is relatively rare, in only about 1 in 3,000 individuals. Nevertheless, a remarkable number of famous visual artists and musicians are members of this select group, including Vincent Van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, David, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Leonard Bernstein, and Duke Ellington. Kandinsky actually used his chromesthesia in creating paintings. A formative experience, he wrote, was hearing Wagner’s Lohengrin. “I saw all my colors in spirit, before my eyes. Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me.” Most of us don’t experience colored light shows when we listen to music. But recent scientific evidence shows that many non-synesthetes do have music-to-color associations similar to the cross-modal experiences of chromesthetes. In my laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, we have been seeking answers to questions about the nature of music-to-color correspondences in both and synesthetes. Our results have been eye opening. They are uncovering the remarkably associative power of the human brain, and perhaps above all, underscoring the centrality of emotion in our mental lives.

To see what I mean, let’s start with a mini-experiment. I invite you to listen to five different music clips and choose the three colors that you feel go best with each one. I won’t name the tunes yet because I don’t want that to the colors you choose. Start with Example A, featured below. Listen to the sample by clicking on the triangular arrow on the sound bar. While listening, choose the three colors that you feel go best with this music from the array to the left, picking the best one first. Follow the same procedure for each music clip. After the fifth clip, you will see 15 color arrays that summarize everybody’s choices, including yours.

Most synesthetes become aware of their distinctive mode of perception in their childhood. Some have learned how to apply their ability in daily life and work. Example A is from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. It’s in a major key and has a lively, dance-like tempo, featuring a trumpet solo bouncing along over an accompanying chamber orchestra. As you see, people picked a variety of colors, but they have strong similarities in being bright, vivid, and dominated by yellow hues. Example B is from a different part of the same Brandenburg Concerto. Here, a violin and oboe trade a much slower melodic line in a minor key over the same chamber orchestra. The colors our participants chose are obviously different from the ones they chose for the other part of the same composition, being strikingly more dark, gray, and blue.Example C is an excerpt of rock music by the 1990s power trio BBM. Its dominant features are prominent drum

rhythms, fast-paced guitar riffs, and a loud, high-energy sound. The colors chosen are notably different from those for the two Brandenburg excerpts. In this case they are predominantly reds, black, and other dark colors. Example D is “easy-listening” music, characterized by its laid-back tempo, minor key, and the quiet sound of the simple piano melody. The chosen colors are muted, cool colors dominated by various shades of blues and grays. Finally, Example E is an excerpt from a salsa song. It is a fast, high-energy piece in a minor key that features lots of brass and catchy rhythms in the drums and other percussion. The colors are overwhelmingly shades of red and other “hot, spicy” colors, such as oranges and yellows. Why, then, do we choose the colors we do? An important part of the answer comes from certain features of the music itself. Fast-paced music in the major mode, such as in Example A, tends to elicit bright, vivid, warm colors, such as intense yellows. Slow-paced, quieter selections in the minor mode, such as in Examples B and D, are more likely to evoke darker, grayer, cooler colors, such as shades of blue, purple, and gray. Fast-paced, complex, high-energy music with a driving beat and distorted sounds, such as Example C, brings out reds and blacks more than any of the others. Example E is a bit unusual in that it is fast-paced and energetic, but in a minor key, and with a complex, distinctive, Afro-Cuban beat. These features led people to vivid “hot” colors that might even be termed “spicy.” As these brief descriptions imply, the musical features that matter most in determining the colors people choose include tempo (slow to fast), energy (low to high), volume

A Synesthetic Alphabet was made with only colors that symbolize each letter through Jarred’s eyes. Therefore it makes Jarred the only person who can read it.

(soft to loud), mode (minor to major), pitch (low to high), harmonic and melodic content (consonant to dissonant), complexity (simple to complex), and distortion (clear to distorted). But there is another way to look at these choices, one that centers on emotion. Consider how you might describe the emotional qualities of the first four musical selections. Roughly speaking, Example A sounds happy and strong, Example B sounds sad and weak.

auditory In auditory-tactile synesthesia, certain sounds can induce sensations in parts of the body. For example, someone with auditory-tactile synesthesia may experience that hearing a specific word feels like touch in one specific part of the body or may experience that certain sounds can create a sensation in the skin without touched. It is one of the least common forms of synesthesia. However, some speculate that the phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of-tactile synesthesia, meaning that it could be more common than current statistics imply. Ordinal-linguistic is a form of in which ordered sequences, such as numbers, week-day names, months and alphabetical letters are associated with personalities and/or genders (Simner

Hubbard 2006). For example, the number 2 might be a young boy with a short, or the letter G might be a busy mother with a kind face. Although this form of was documented as early as the 1890s (Flournoy 1893; Calkins 1893) researchers have, until recently, paid little attention to this form (see History of synesthesia research). This form of was color synesthesia.

Perception of touch is associated with sound and music. 28

Ordinal-linguistic personification is a form of synesthesia in which ordered sequences, such as ordinal numbers, week-day names, months and alphabetical letters are associated with personalities and/ or genders (Simner & Hubbard 2006). For example, the number. However, some speculate that the common phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of auditory-tactile synesthesia, meaning that it could be more common than current statistics imply. For example, the number. However, some speculate that the common phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched. However, some speculate that the common phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of auditory-tactile synesthesia, meaning that it could be more common than current statistics imply. Ordinal-linguistic

...experience that certain sounds can create a sensation in the skin without being touched.

In auditory-tactile synesthesia, certain sounds can induce sensations in parts of the body. For example, someone with auditory-tactile synesthesia may experience that hearing a specific word feels like touch in one specific part of the body or may experience that certain sounds can create a sensation in the skin without being touched. It is one of the least forms of synesthesia. However, some that the common phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of-tactile synesthesia, meaning that it could be more common than current statistics.

personification is a form of synesthesia in which ordered sequences, such as ordinal numbers, week-day names, months and alphabetical letters are associated with personalities and/or genders (Simner & Hubbard 2006). For example, the number. However, some speculate that the common of autonomous sensory meridian in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of auditory-tactile synesthesia, meaning

that it could be more common than current statistics imply. For example, the number. However, some speculate that the common phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched. However, some speculate that the common phe-

nomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response, in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of auditory-tactile synesthesia, meaning that it could be more. However, some speculate that the common phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of auditory-tactile synesthesia,

meaning that it could be week-day names, months and alphabet more common than current statistics imply. However, months and alphabetical letters are associated with personalities and/or genders some speculate that the common phenomenon of autonomous sensory meridian response, week-day names, months and alphabe in which auditory stimuli or trigger words create a tingling sensation in the body without being touched, to be a form of auditory-tactile synesthesia.

that certain sounds can create a sensation in the skin without being touched.

...experience that certain sounds can create a sensation in the skin without bein 30

Synesthesia is the automatic elicitation of conscious perceptual experiences by stimuli not normally associated with such experiences (eg, tasting words, hearing colors). The stimuli that induce synesthesia can be either cognitive (eg, thinking of a number) or sensory (eg, listening to music). Synesthesia can be either developmental in origin (present throughout the life span, with a hereditary component) or acquired. Whereas developmental cases tend to be either of the cognitive-sensory, acquired cases tend to be limited to the sensory types. (Note: I use the convention of placing the stimulus that elicits the experience before the hyphen and the experience itself after the hyphen.)

when accompanied by an ipsilesional stimulus of the same modality). Ro and colleagues speculate that this may be caused by compensatory plasticity in corticocallosal pathways.The patient also had decreased somatosensory functions on the left (contralesional) side of her body.

This could reflect the fact that the of synesthesia predates the learning of cultural knowledge (eg, words, letters, numbers) in developmental but not in acquired cases. Acquired cases of synesthesia have not been extensively documented, and Ro et al. study an important to this emerging literature.

At 20 months, a further magnetic imaging diffusion tensor imaging analysis showed disorganized white matter in the hemisphere. It is unclear whether the subcortical connections themselves cause the synesthesia, or whether it is due to other compensatory plasticity (see later). The synesthesia lasted for many years and was at six years onset.

Most previous cases of acquired have arisen as a result of sensory in the visual modality resulting in acquired such as sound-vision and touch-vision. These cases typically have peripheral damage to the visual pathways (eg, retinal degeneration or optic nerve damage), although one case of sound-vision synesthesia after midbrain tumor is reported. Ro and generally over time colleaguesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; case is unique in having a discrete neurological lesion, in this instance, to the right thalamus.3 It is also unique in that tactile sensations are elicited from sounds. The facts of the case are as follows. At months after onset, a investigation demon- strated the rare condition of tactile and visual antiextinction (ie, improved ability to detect a contralesional stimulus

A magnetic resonance imaging scan and diffusion tensor imaging analysis at about 15 months found a right thalamic lesion but showed no white matter differences between the lesioned and in- tact. At 18 months, she first reported signs of synesthesia (eg, tactile sensations triggered by listening to a particular radio announcer) that were formally followed up.

The tactile percepts were typically experienced on the left upper part of the body (including hands and arm), were simple in nature (eg, tingles or pressure rather than shapes), and were generally over time. Given that the synesthesia and the earlier in sensory functioning occurred within the same domain (ie, tactile sensations on the left), it resembles previous cases of acquired visual synesthesia after visual impairment (even though the lesion was different in nature). The region of somatosensory cortex representing the face, hands, and arms lies closer to the auditory cortex than that representing, and feet. However, generally over time one might expect, under an adjacency account, that tactile synesthesia would predominate.

In one study conducted by Julia Simner of the University of Edinburgh, it was found that spatial sequence synesthetes have a built-in and automatic mnemonic reference. The automatic and ineffable nature of a synesthetic experience means that the pairing may not seem out of the ordinary.

lexical This is another rare form of synesthesia where certain tastes are experienced when hearing words. For example, the word basketball might taste like waffles. The documentary ‘Derek Tastes Of Earwax’ gets its name from this phenomenon, in references to pub owner James Wannerton who experiences this particular sensation whenever he hears the name spoken.[29][30] It is estimated that 0.2% of the population has this form of synesthesia. Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia; from the Ancient Greek syn, “together”, and aist sis, “sensation”) is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes.or color-graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored.

Perception of taste or smell is associated with the experience of colors. 34

Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia; from the Ancient Greek syn, “together”, and aist sis, “sensation”) is a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. In the experiment, the researchers showed six lexical-gustatory synesthetes images of objects they were familiar with, but which they didn’t normally encounter. The images included a platypus, a gazebo, an artichoke, a metronome and a sextant. Doing this induced a “tip-of-tongue” state in the participants, during which they recognized the object but couldn’t instantly absolutely identify it.

population has this form of synesthesia.

“At the moment they’re trying to find the word, we ask them two things: whether they knew any part of the word at all, and what it tasted of,” said study team member Julia Simner of the University of Edinburgh in the UK. “I remember one participant, we showed her a phonograph, and she said ‘I know what that is…um…um… Oh! I’m tasting Dutch chocolate and I don’t know why!’” To ensure that the synesthetes’ word-taste associations weren’t arbitrarily chosen, Simner and her colleague Jamie Ward asked them to repeat the associations after the trial. They also cold-called participants, up to two years later, and asked them the same questions. “We phone the synesthetes completely out of the blue,” Simner said. “We say ‘’Hello, we did this study on you…Can you tell me what ‘phonograph’ tastes of?’ and they say ‘Yeah, it tastes of Dutch chocolate.” Simner said that most non-synesthetes, if asked to remember a list of word-taste associations, might accurately recall about a quarter of them two weeks later.

It is estimated that 0.2% of the

For example, the word basketball might taste like waﬀles. “Synesthetes are accurate 100 percent over many, many, many years—over decades even,” she said. The researchers also found that many of the six synesthetes’ studied associated similar tastes for the same words. “You can predict the nature of the taste if you know how the word sounds,” Simner said. “It seems like it’s not really words that are related to tastes, but certain sounds within words.” For example, many of the synesthetes reported words with the sounds “eh” or “mmm” tasted of mint, and that those the sound “aye” tended to taste of bacon. Because of this, Simner said she could pick any word, and hazard a guess what a lexical-gustatory synesthete would taste. “For example, for me, it’s not a surprise at all that for lots and lots of these synesthetes, the name ‘Tony’ taste of macaroni,” she said.

Simner thinks her findings could help explain how human perception works in general. “We know that synesthetes and nonsynesthetes make the same types of associations—it’s just that synesthetes experience them perceptually,” she said. For example, synesthetes who see colors when hearing sounds tend to see light colors for high-pitched sounds and dark colors for low-pitched ones. “This is exactly the same type of association that we all make if we’re forced to make a judgment,” Simner told LiveScience. “If I play the top note of a piano, and ask if that’s a light yellow or a deep, dark purple, you’re probably going to say it’s a light yellow sound.” The same parallel probably exists for word and taste associations. Simner notes that for lexical-gustatory synesthetes, food names tend to taste of themselves. For example, the word “cabbage” tastes like cabbage and “mint” tastes like mint.“ Although nonsynesthetes don’t have a taste experience when they read food

names, it’s still likely that the same associations exist—that the word ‘cabbage’ is linked to the taste of cabbage in all people” who know what cabbage is and have eaten it, Simner said. While estimates of the prevalence of synesthesia vary, one of the most cited studies pegs it at about 1-in-2,000, with a heavy skew toward females. But in another recent study, published in the August issue of the journal Perception, Simner and colleagues found that 1 out of 23 people in the UK—or about 4 of the population—have at least one synesthesia. The exact cause of synesthesia is still unknown, but one popular hypothesis, put forth by Daphne Maurer and Catherine Mondloch at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, suggests that all of us begin life as synesthetes. The researchers suggest our infant brains once contained connections between different sensory areas, and that these connections pruned

Despite the commonalities which permit definition of the broad phenomenon of synesthesia, individual experiences vary in numerous ways. This variability was first noticed early in synesthesia research. Some synesthetes report that vowels are more strongly colored, while for others consonants are more strongly colored. The automatic and ineffable nature of a synesthetic experience means that the pairing may not seem out of the ordinary. This involuntary and consistent nature helps define synesthesia as a real experience.

or blocked as we matured. “There’s some suggestion that for synesthetes, this process doesn’t take place fully, and that some of those connections are left active,” Simner said.

words. “You can predict the nature of the taste if you know how the word sounds,” Simner said. “It seems like it’s not really words that are related to tastes, but certain sounds within words.”

Some of the lexical-gustatory synesthetes examined found the condition disruptive. “One of our participants found it interfered when he’s having a conversation or trying to read,” Simner said. “Or when he’s driving and trying to read the street signs, he’ll have a really intense sensation of something really unpleasant…like earwax.”

For example, many of the reported words with the sounds “eh” or “mmm” tasted of mint, and that those the sound “aye” tended to taste of bacon. Because of this, Simner said she could pick any word, and hazard a guess what a lexical-gustatory synesthete taste.

But the majority of synesthetes say they wouldn’t trade their abilities for anything. “I think if you took a straw poll of 100, 96 would say they would never ever lose their synesthesia, that they like it and are glad to have it,” she said.

The researchers suggest our brains once contained connections between different sensory areas, and that these pruned or blocked as we matured. The same parallel probably exists for word and associations.

“Some say it is like having a nose or a little finger—it’s just there.” The researchers also found that many of the six’ studied associated similar tastes for the same

Shedding light on an often misunderstood or underrepresented condition, these famous synesthetes have voiced their ability to perceive multiple sensory experiences at one time.

famous synesthetes Marilyn Monroe

Vincent Van Gogh

Billy Joel

Lady Gaga

Edgar Degas

Edvard Munch

W.A. Mozart

Stevie Wonder

Pythagoras

Jackson Pollock

Claude Monet

Wassily Kandinsky

Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999), and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame (2006). In 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors, the nation’s highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts.

BILLY Oscar-Claude Monet; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a founder of French Impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement’s philosophy

CLAUDE

of expressing one’s perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. The term “Impressionism” is derived from the title of his painting Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which was exhibited in 1874 in the first of the independent exhibitions mounted by Monet and his associates as an alternative to the Salon de Paris.

JACKSON During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety; he was a major artist of his generation. Regarded as reclusive, he had a volatile personality, and struggled with alcoholism for most of his life. In 1945, he married the artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy. Pollock died at the age of 44 in an alcohol-related single-car accident when he was driving. In December 1956, four months after his death, Pollock was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress and model. Famous for playing “dumb blonde” characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s, emblematic of the era’s attitudes towards sexuality. Although she was a top-billed actress for only a decade, her films grossed $200 million by the time of her unexpected death in 1962. She continues to be considered a major popular culture icon.

MARILYN Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and the putative founder of the movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras

PYTHAGORAS was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable

information is known about him. He was born on the island of Sa-

mos, and travelled, visiting Egypt and Greece, and maybe India. Around 530 BC, he moved to Croton, in Magna Graecia, and

there established some kind of school or guild movement called Pythagoreanism. In 520 BC, he returned to Samos.

STEVIE Stevland Hardaway Morris (born Stevland Hardaway Judkins, May 13, 1950), known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A child prodigy, he is considered to be one of the most critically and commercially successful musical performers of the late 20th century

Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming, in the youngest of five sons. His parents, Stella May (née McClure) and LeRoy Pollock, were born and grew up in Tingley, Iowa and were educated at Tingley High School. Pollock’s mother is interred at Tingley Cemetery, Ringgold County, Iowa. His father had been born with the surname McCoy, but took the surname of his adoptive parents, neighbors who adopted him after his own parents had died within a year of each other. Stella and LeRoy Pollock were Presbyterian; they were of Irish and Scots-Irish descent, respectively. LeRoy Pollock was a farmer and later a land surveyor for the government, moving for different jobs. Jackson grew up in Arizona and Chico, California. While living in Echo Park, California, he enrolled at Los Angeles’ Manual Arts High School, from which he was expelled. He had already been expelled in 1928 from another high school. During his early life, Pollock explored Native American culture while on surveying trips with his father. In 1930, following his older brother Charles Pollock, he moved to New York City, where they both studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League. Benton’s rural American subject matter had little influence on Pollock’s work, but his rhythmic use of paint and his fierce independence were more lasting. In the early 1930s, Pollock spent a summer touring the Western United States together with Glen Rounds, a fellow art student, and Benton, their teacher. From 1938 to 1942, during the Great Depression, Pollock worked for the WPA Federal Art Project. Trying to deal with his established alcoholism, from 1938 through 1941 Pollock underwent Jungian psychotherapy with Dr. Joseph Henderson and later with Dr. Violet

Staub de Laszlo in 1941–42. Henderson engaged him through his art, encouraging Pollock to make drawings. Jungian concepts and archetypes were expressed in his paintings. Recently, historians have hypothesized that Pollock might have had bipolar disorder. Stella and LeRoy Pollock were Presbyterian; they were of Irish and Scots-Irish descent, respectively. LeRoy Pollock was a farmer and later a land surveyor for the government, moving for different jobs. Jackson grew up in Arizona and Chico, California. While living in Echo Park, California, he enrolled at Los Angeles’ Manual Arts High School, from which he was expelled. He had already been expelled in 1928 from

The question viewers must address is whether the artists included are truly synesthetic or working within an abstract construct, attempting for example to create graphic patterns that ostensibly portray musical compositions. another high school. In 1930, following his older brother Charles Pollock, he moved to New York City, where they both studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League. Benton’s rural American subject matter had little influence on Pollock’s work, but his rhythmic use of paint and his fierce independence were more lasting. During his early life, Pollock explored Native American culture while on surveying trips with his father. In 1930, following his older brother Charles Pollock, he moved to New York City, where they both studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Students League of paint and his fierce independence were more lasting. Benton’s rural American subject matter had little influence on Pollock’s work.

art & li 55

Only a fraction of types of synesthesia have been evaluated by research. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person. Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia; from the Ancient Greek syn, “together”, and aist sis, “sensation”) is a phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or

Some of the largest contributions to art and literature have been by famous synesthetes.

Little is known about how synesthesia develops. It has been suggested that develops during children are intensively engaged with abstract concepts for the first time. This hypothesis—referred to as semantic hypothesis—explains why the most common forms of synesthesia are grapheme-color, spatial sequence and number form. These are usually the first abstract concepts that educational systems require children to learn.

cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme-color synesthesia or color graphemic synesthesia, or numbers are perceived as inherently colored. These are usually the first abstract concepts that educational systems require children to learn. Although the colors that different synesthetes associate with, or Although the colors that different associate with letters, numbers, or groups of written symbols differ between people, they tend to be consistent for a given individual. groups, they tend to be for a given individual.

iterature 56

Little is known about how synesthesia develops. It has been suggested that synesthesia develops during childhood when children are intensively engaged with abstract concepts for the first time. Angelina Moore Sounds of Silence 8’ x 9’, Oil Canvas

People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme-color or color graphemic synesthesia. Jessica Marie Smith The Taste of Blueberries 8’12” x 9’1”, Oil Canvas

Only a fraction of types of synesthesia have been evaluated by scientific research. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person synesthesia. Jackson Pollock Number Four 10’ x 11’, Oil Canvas

A Black, E white, I red, U green, O blue: vowels, Someday I shall tell of your mysterious births: A, black velvety corset of dazzling flies Buzzing around cruel smells, Gulfs of shadow; E, white innocence of vapors and of tents, Spears of proud glaciers, white kings, shivers of Queen Anne’s lace; I, purples, spitting blood, smile of beautiful lips In anger or in drunken penitence; U, waves, divine shudderings of green seas, The calm of pastures dotted with animals, the peace of furrows Which alchemy prints on wide, studious foreheads; O, sublime Bugle full of strange piercing sound, Silences crossed by Worlds and by Angels; —O the Omega, the violet ray of her Eyes! Arthur Rimbaud 58

Examples of many well known synesthetic taste experiences are recorded in case studies with singular participants that demonstrate the variability of the condition. Faith Anita Merz Your Face My Face 8’12” x 9’1”, Oil Canvas

These are usually the first abstract concepts that educational systems require children to learn. John Robertson Color Explosion 8’12” x 9’1”, Oil Canvas

People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme-color or color graphemic synesthesia. Owen Marlo Johnson The Taste of Blueberries 8’12” x 9’1”, Oil Canvas