Know your brain: Synesthesia

Follow me on Twitter for news and findings in the world of psychology and cognitive neuroscience:
http://twitter.com/#!/MichaelPayton67

CBC Wiretap- Matter of Taste:
http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/2011/07/23/a-matter-of-taste-1/

Articles:
http://www.theassc.org/files/assc/2346.pdf

http://dept.wofford.edu/neuroscience/NeuroSeminar/pdfFall2010/RichMattingley_...

TMS and Synesthesia Paper by Esterman:
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1162/jocn.2006.18.9.1570

Review of Esterman:
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/almorris/519%20readings/Mulvenna_Wa...


Oliver Sacks on the importance of Alexander Luria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGqLfP-LtgE

L'Audition Coloree:
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL20603257M/L'audition_color

Category:

Education

Tags:

• brain
• cognitive
• neuroscience
• synesthesia
• brain disorders
• neurology
• brain science

[TheLaughingOut]

At the end you gave two possible explanations and said that it could only be one. I have two questions.

1. Why could it not be both, depending on the different persons?

2. How do you know that there are no more possible explanations such as the letter stimulus directly stimulating colour sensitive neurons?

p.s. I love these videos.

[MichaelPayton67]

@TheLaughingOut

1. It might actually be different for different abnormalities. I regret how I phrased that. I was more saying that in any one case it could not be both. I think reading some of the material in the info bar might interest you on this question

2. Letter regions directly stimulating colour regions would have to be deemed an abnormal connection functioning in normal ways because typical human subjects do not have this pathology.

[sirdelrio]

Despite the fact, at least for me, that when i listen or play the piano I literally see the colors, because some tonalities awake definite colors in my brain, I had never given Synesthesia any credibility, since me experiencing it, or even many others, would be no basis for it being a neural phenomenon. It could have been just a simple asociation. But nice and also kind of disturbig to see that it's kind of a disorder. = L

[MichaelPayton67]

@sirdelrio

What you're describing is a musical-colour synesthesia and if you can clearly see coloured blobs or shapes during musical performances than you'd definitely qualify as a synesthete.

[jtturner2020]

I am a synesthete myself. I have grapheme-color synesthesia. I can see colors in my alphabet.

[cloud0123]

@sirdelrio Don't worry about mainstream science and their barbaric (actually, little to none) understanding of this condition. It is NOT a disorder. It is a gift. If you had the ability to lets say, move objects with your mind. They would say you had a disorder. Why? Because your brain doesn't behave like everyone elses. Its a gift, don't get yourself down.

[MrTomfooligans]

I appreciate this video. I have only a boring form of synesthesia, which deals with numbers, time, calendars, etc. Always happy to learn more, though.

[TheLaughingOut]

@MichaelPayton67 I usually check the description. I don't know why I didn't do that this time. Thank you.

[DivergentMind]

I quite like these videos - thanks

[Blackmark52]

Interesting. I once had a bad experience with drugs in which, though I was screaming and writhing and being held down and gagged by my friends, internally I was completely calm, thinking "Oh, this is how it's supposed to be." I saw the sounds, felt the colours, and so wasn't able to discern at all what was really happening. I took me a year to recover, cost me my college degree, and kinda turned me off drugs, but it was an experience I wouldn't want to trade.

[smpaudio]

@jacobromu I only associate pure color with single notes, like I would do with numbers or the alphabet. But with actual 'music', when sounds are happening *over time*, like a note that bends or a phrase or a snare drum pattern etc, I associate imagery with those things, that look a bit like wireframe shapes or buildings. My musical side of the synesthesia is the most detailed and elaborate. But I rely on it for memory. Good for music, but not so good for remembering to pay the bill. :-)

[jacobromu]

@smpaudio what about bent notes and quarter tones?