During my senior year of high school, I enrolled in a Theory of Knowledge class. During one uncharacteristic class period, we discussed something of interest to me. Mr. Case explained that there are some people whose senses are crossed, combined, or layered. A classmate raised her hand with a frightened look on her face. She asked the class, “doesn’t everyone taste sounds?” She had no idea she was a synesthete. I’ve been fascinated ever since.
Synesthesia results from crossactivation of brain regions associated with sensation. Synesthetes have been reported with every sensory combination imaginable. They see music. They hear touch. THEY HAVE SMELL-O-VISION! A student speaker/synesthete in my college biological psychology class (boldly) explained that upon orgasm, every one of her senses fires rapidly, ricocheting off of another; a symphony of sight, touch, taste, smell and sound overcoming her. Oh. My.
Considering that 1 in 2000 individuals experiences some sort of synesthesia (Baron-Cohen et al., 1996), and that we’ve been studying the condition for over one hundred years (Galton 1880a), we know a lot about it, right? Nope. No one seems to know for certain when or why this happens. The big issue in untangling synesthesia is that it occurs in so many sensory combinations, then along a spectrum within each combination. Not to mention most synesthetes are unaware of their condition. Think about it: if you were born without the ability to taste, would you question it? If you saw colors associated with letters from the time you were born, you’d believe that’s the way the world works. The unique nature of synesthesia makes it very difficult to examine. The vast amount of research on the subject is therefore highly inconclusive.
But let’s take a break from being so sciency and bask in how COOL this is! Synesthetes and those who study them almost always see the condition as an enhancement to their lives. They can outperform most on related cognitive tasks (like picking out a 2 in a sea of 5’s…because it’s a different color), and they get to experience the environment in a way most can never understand. It seems to me that synesthesia may actually be a fossil of neuroevolution. Perhaps our ancestors experienced sensory input as a web, a combination of what we consider to be separate functions. Over time, in order to conserve energy, our sensations and perceptions became simplified. Then again, these people may represent “the brain of the future.” Who knows? I look forward to the bevy of research that is sure to come.
F. Galton, Visualised numerals. Nature, 21 (1880), pp. 252–256. S. Baron-Cohen, L. Burt, F. Smith-Laittan, J. Harrison and P. Bolton, Synaesthesia: prevalence and familiality. Perception, 25 (1996), pp. 1073–1079. (1880), pp. 252–256.
Thank you for reminding me about this condition. I heard about it and looked it up ages ago, intending to use it in a short story, and promptly forgot about it. I look forward to watching the attached video at home. I like the re-design, by the way!
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