Synesthesia – what is it and how does it manifest? How to recognize synesthesia?

Proven content

Synesthesia is a disease in which there is an unusual perception of reality through the senses – for example, a person may see sounds or feel colors. Often these unique and rare abilities are no longer referred to as disorders – instead we are talking about special abilities and uniqueness.

Synesthesia – what is it?

Synesthesia (Greek syn – sharing and aisthesis – feeling, perceiving) is a neurological condition that causes certain stimuli to trigger more than one sense. There are many different types of synesthesia that affect a wide variety of senses and stimuli. Thanks to synesthesia, therefore, you can see the color blue (using the sense of sight), but also be able to taste or smell it. You can hear the music, but also see different notes as different colors. You can even “taste” different notes. There are also no rules about the colors, smells, or flavors associated with something. For example, the letter K may be purple and taste like ice cream.

Although people have known about synesthesia and have been researching it since 1876, scientists still don’t fully understand it. This is partly because synesthesia is not very common – a previous study estimated that only 4 percent of people live with it. If we are one of the people who live with synesthesia (such people are referred to as synesthetics), then we have no reason to worry, because you can live completely normal with synesthesia and, moreover, experience the world around us on a multidimensional level.

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Synesthesia – causes

The causes of synesthesia are not confirmed. Scientists are still arguing about its source. Many years ago it was believed that it results from upbringing – a child, learning, for example, to count using colored blocks or other toys, creates various paths of associations. However, this hypothesis was quickly refuted. People who experience synesthesia tend to be born with it or develop it very early in childhood.

According to a 2013 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, it is possible to develop synesthesia later in life. Research indicates that synesthesia can be genetically inherited. This would be confirmed by the example of the family of the famous writer Vladimir Nabokov. As a child, he complained that his alphabet learning blocks were the wrong colors. Nabokov married a woman who was a synesthetic. Their son, Dimitrij, was also endowed with this “gift.”

Each of the five senses stimulates a different area of ​​the brain. For example, looking at a bright neon yellow wall will illuminate the primary visual cortex at the back of the brain. If a person has synesthesia, they may also feel that they can taste the color of the wall when they look at it. So not only the main visual cortex will be stimulated by color, but also the parietal lobe that tells us what something tastes like is also stimulated. Therefore, scientists believe that people who have synesthesia have a high level of interconnection between the parts of the brain related to the sensory stimulus. However, opinions are divided here.

There are theories according to which disease occurs when an excessive number of nerve connections carry information to various sensory organs, as a result of which their perception is disturbed. Another scientific theory does not find the causes of disorders in the increased number of connections, but in the inability to silence the impulses that reach the brain.

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Synesthesia – symptoms

Since there are so many different types of synesthesia, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact symptoms.

There are several types of synesthesia, the most common of which is colored hearing: a person who hears a given sound, sees colors, or vice versa – it is contact with certain colors that creates a hearing sensation. Colors usually appear in front of your eyes as soon as you hear the first sounds.

It’s worth noting that some synestheticians often report that they weren’t aware that their experiences were extraordinary until they realized that other people didn’t have them. Most synesthetics report that their experiences are pleasant or neutral, although on rare occasions, synesthetists report that their experiences may lead to some degree of sensory overload.

While it is often stereotyped in popular media as a medical condition or a neurological aberration, many synestheticians do not view their synesthetic experiences as an impairment. On the contrary, some consider it a gift. Most synesthetes become aware of their characteristic way of perception in childhood. Some have learned to use their skills in everyday life and work. Synestheticians have used their skills to remember names and phone numbers, mental arithmetic, and more complex creative activities such as creating visual arts, music, and theater.

Despite the similarities that allow the broad phenomenon of synesthesia to be defined, individual experiences differ in many respects. This variability was first noticed in early synesthesia research. Some synesthetists report that the vowels are more colored, while in others the consonants are more colored. Autoreports, interviews and autobiographical notes of synesthetists show a wide variety of types of synesthesia, intensification of synesthetic perceptions, awareness of perceptual discrepancies between synesthetics and non-synesthetics, and ways of using synesthesia in work, creative processes and everyday life.

A person can only have one type of synesthesia or a combination of several types. People who have any type of synesthesia usually have the following symptoms:

1. involuntary perceptions that pass between the senses (tasting shapes, hearing colors, etc.);
2. sensory stimuli that consistently and predictably cause interaction between the senses (e.g. every time you see the letter A, you see it red);
3. the ability to describe your extraordinary insights to other people.

According to specialists, a person affected by synesthesia may be more left-handed and very interested in the visual arts or music. Synesthesia appears to be more common in women than in men.

Custom Synesthesia?

The phenomenon of synesthesia also causes LSD. Hash addicts also report inter-sensory experiences. However, these sensations are short-lived, and the person experiencing them is completely out of touch with reality.

People who take other substances such as mescaline or psilocybin have similar experiences. Interestingly, according to the same research published in the aforementioned Frontiers in Psychology, other stimulants such as cannabis, alcohol and even caffeine have also been shown to cause temporary synesthesia.

Also check: LSD can help in the treatment of alcohol addiction

Synesthesia – mechanism of action

Dedicated brain regions are specialized for specific functions. Increased interaction between regions specialized for different functions may be responsible for many types of synesthesia. For example, the experience of seeing a color when looking at a graph may be due to the cross-activation of the grapheme recognition area and the area within the visual cortex (visual area V4). This is due to the fact that grapheme-color synesthetists are able to recognize the color of the grapheme in their peripheral vision, even though they cannot consciously identify the shape of the grapheme.

An alternative possibility is to disinhibit feedback or reduce the amount of inhibition along normally existing feedback pathways. Normal stimulation and inhibition are balanced. However, if normal feedback is not inhibited as usual, feedback from the late stages of multisensory processing can affect the earlier stages so that sounds can activate vision.

Researchers support the idea of ​​disinhibition in so-called acquired forms of synesthesia that occur in non-synesthetic people under certain conditions: temporal epilepsy, head trauma, stroke, and brain tumors. They also note that it can also occur during the stages of meditation, deep concentration, sensory deprivation, or using psychedelics like LSD or mescaline, and even, in some cases, marijuana. However, synesthetists report that commonly used stimulants such as caffeine and cigarettes do not affect the strength of their synesthesia, as does alcohol.

See also: Will Drugs Cure Depression?

Synesthesia – types

Since synesthesia can involve any combination of the senses, there can be 60 to 80 subtypes of synesthesia. However, not all types of synesthesia have been documented or studied. Some synestheticians perceive texture in response to sight, hear sounds in response to smells, or associate shapes with flavors.

There are two general forms of synesthesia:

1. projective synesthesia: seeing colors, forms or shapes under the influence of stimulation (broadly understood version of synesthesia).
2. associative synesthesia: feeling a very strong and involuntary connection between the stimulus and the feeling it causes.

Synesthesia can occur between almost any two senses or modes of perception, and at least one synesthetic, Sołomon Szerieszewski, has experienced synesthesia that has connected all five senses.

While almost any logically possible combination of experiences can occur, several types are more common than others.

Synesthesia of the grapheme-color type

In one of the most common forms of synesthesia, individual letters of the alphabet and numbers (collectively “graphemes”) are “shaded” or “tinted” in color. While different people typically do not report the same colors for all letters and numbers, studies with a large number of synesthetics show some similarities between the letters (eg, the letter “A” is likely red).

Chromesthesia

Another common form of synesthesia is associating sounds with colors. For some, everyday sounds can trigger their color vision. For others, the colors are triggered when notes or scales are played. Voice, music, and various ambient sounds, such as the clatter of dishes or a dog barking, trigger colors that appear, move, and then fade away as the sound ends.

People with music-related synesthesia may also have absolute hearing because their ability to see and hear colors helps them identify notes or scales. The colors triggered by certain sounds and any other synesthetic visual sensation are called photoisms.

Spatial sequences

People with synesthesia of the spatial sequence type (spatial sequence synaesthesias) tend to perceive ordinal sequences as points in space. For example, they associate the following months with circular, spiral spatial forms, as well as rising or broken lines.

Such people may have a better memory; in one study, they were able to recall past events and memories much better and in greater detail than people without the condition. They can also see months or dates in the space surrounding them, but most synesthetes “see” these sequences with their mind’s eye. Some people see time like a clock above and around them.

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Order-linguistic personification

Ordinal linguistic personification is a form of synesthesia in which ordered sequences such as ordinal numbers, weekday names, months, and alphabet letters are associated with personalities or genders. Although this form of synesthesia was documented as early as the 90s, until recently, scientists paid little attention to it. This form of synesthesia usually coexists with other forms of synesthesia, such as grapheme-color synesthesia.

Auditory-tactile synesthesia

In auditory-tactile synesthesia, certain sounds can cause sensations in parts of the body. For example, a person with auditory tactile synesthesia may experience that hearing a certain word or sound is like touching a specific part of the body, or may experience that certain sounds may feel like a skin sensation without touching it. It is one of the least common forms of synesthesia.

Mizofonia

Misophonia is a neurological disorder in which negative experiences (anger, terror, hatred, disgust) are triggered by specific sounds. Researchers suggest that misophonia is associated with synesthesia, and perhaps is a form of synesthesia. Researchers compared misophonia to synesthesia in terms of connectivity between different brain regions as well as specific symptoms.

Research suggests that people with misophonia have normal levels of auditory sensitivity, but the limbic system and the autonomic nervous system are consistently in a “high state of arousal” where abnormal responses to sounds will be more common. More recent research suggests that depending on the severity, misophonia may be associated with lower cognitive control when individuals are exposed to certain associations and triggers.

It is not known what causes misophonia. Some scientists believe it may be genetic, others believe it occurs with other additional conditions, but there is insufficient evidence to conclude what causes misophinia. There are currently no treatments available for this condition, but it can be treated with different types of coping strategies. These strategies vary from person to person, some have reported avoiding certain situations that could trigger a reaction: mimicking sounds, eliminating sounds using various methods such as earplugs, music, internal dialogue, and many other tactics. Most misophones use them to “overwrite” those sounds made by others.

Lexical and taste synesthesia

Lexical-gustatory synesthesia is a form of synesthesia in which you experience certain flavors when you listen to words. For example, the word basketball can taste like waffles. It is estimated that 0,2% of the synesthesia population has this form of synesthesia, making it the rarest form.

Mirror synesthesia

Mirror-touch synesthesia is a form of synesthesia in which people feel the same sensation as another person (e.g. touch). For example, when such a synesthetic watches someone tapping on the arm, the synesthetic also involuntarily feels a tapping on his own arm. It has been shown that people with this type of synesthesia have a higher level of empathy compared to the general population. This may be related to the so-called mirror neurons present in the motor regions of the brain, which have also been linked to empathy.

See also: What is empathy and can it be learned? [WE EXPLAIN]

Kinesthetic synesthesia

Kinesthetic synesthesia is one of the rarest documented forms of synesthesia in the world. This form of synesthesia is a combination of different types of synesthesia. The features appear to be similar to auditory-tactile synesthesia, but the sensations are not isolated into individual numbers or letters, but into complex systems of relationships. The result is the ability to remember and model complex relationships between numerous variables by feeling physical sensations around the kinesthetic movement of related variables.

Reports include hand or foot sensation combined with visualizations of shapes or objects when analyzing math equations, physical systems, or music. In another case, the person described seeing interactions between physical shapes that cause feelings in the feet while solving a math problem. Generally speaking, people with this type of synesthesia can remember and visualize complex systems and predict the effects of system changes with great accuracy. Examples include predicting the results of computer simulations in subjects such as quantum mechanics or fluid dynamics when the results are not naturally intuitive.

How rare is synesthesia?

Estimates of the incidence of synesthesia have ranged widely, from 1 in 4 to 1 in 25-000. However, most studies have relied on reporting synestheses, which introduced bias. Considered the most accurate, a 100 study published in Oxford University Press that surveyed 000 people recruited from the Edinburgh and Glasgow community of universities; and the prevalence was found to be 2013%, with 500 different forms of synesthesia.

This study also found that one common form of synesthesia, or grapheme-color synesthesia, occurs in more than one percent of the population, and the latter prevalence of grapheme-color synesthesia has since been independently verified on a sample of nearly 3000 people at the University of Edinburgh. .

There are studies suggesting that people on the autism spectrum are more likely to develop synesthesia.

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How to recognize synesthesia?

While there are a few tests available online that you can take, the results may not be very conclusive. After all, they may focus more on grapheme-color synesthesia, while we may have mirror synesthesia, for example.

Nothing prevents us from performing a simple synesthesia test at home. Of course, this is not an official test, but it can help us become more aware of how we perceive the world.

To do this, close your eyes, relax, and think about all the letters of the alphabet. Do we associate a specific color with them? Or do they appear to be in a specific place or pattern, like the dots in a cube? If so, make a note of it.

Now let’s repeat the same test a few hours later and write down your answers again. Compare your two sets of answers – did we save the same colors or patterns in both sets? If so, we may have synesthesia. We can also perform the same test while listening to music, highlighting whether the notes or instruments have a consistent color in our mind.

Synesthesia – when should we see a doctor?

It is recommended to consult a doctor for an official diagnosis. It may be a good idea if you feel you need the help of a mental health professional. If it turns out that we have synesthesia, a specialist may refer us for treatment to help us live with it.

If we’re one of the synesthetes who copes well with symptoms, we may not need to see a doctor at all.

Also check: Are you experiencing disturbing symptoms? Take a short medical interview and get your health checked

Synesthesia – advantages and disadvantages

Often times, synesthesia is described as an “amazing gift” and it’s easy to see why. Musical geniuses use synesthesia in their work. Synestheticians see a rainbow of colors when they hear music. And who doesn’t want to taste ice cream every time you see blue?

Research has also shown that people with grapheme-color synesthesia in particular may have better memory than the average person. Synestheticians in general may be more imaginative, and the study of synesthesia may lead to a better understanding of human consciousness. However, synesthesia is not only a cool skill, but also some downsides.

Advantages

1. You can see amazing colors when you see words or hear music.
2. Synesthesia is associated with better memory.
3. We are more likely to be great at creative activities and interest us more.
4. Listening to music can be a beautiful visual experience.
5. Mirror synesthesia can make us more empathetic.

Disadvantages

1. A synesthetist may have an aversion to a person if, for example, she doesn’t like the colors she sees when she thinks about that person’s name.
2. Synesthetics can be lonely because other people don’t see the world the same way.
3. Not all synesthetists are interested or good at the arts, which can lead to feelings of pressure.
4. Listening to music can be a terrible experience if the colors we associate with notes or instruments conflict with each other.
5. Mirror synesthesia can also be very annoying, for example, if a synesthetist sees someone getting hurt, he may feel the pain himself.

See also: You can eat your imagination

Synesthesia – treatment

While some synestheticians experience some of the effects of synesthesia, others find some aspects of it disturbing and interfering with daily life. It is enough to imagine a situation when, for example, the beige color is associated with vomiting, and then we have to make a long flight in an airplane … with a beige interior.

There is no cure for synesthesia. Worse still, many neurotypical people do not understand what is synesthesia, and may not even have heard of it, which means that synesthetists can be left alone with their problem and feel isolated. They may have trouble explaining their sensory experiences because they are very different. Finding a community of other synesthetics online can help ease this feeling of isolation

For people who find their synesthesia a problem, one option is to talk to a mental health professional. This can really help improve the person’s self-esteem and teach them to deal with sensory overload in overstimulating environments.

Doctors may also be able to help change a patient’s perception of synesthesia by researching how it helps in daily life or makes experiences such as listening to music richer.

See also: Self-esteem – how to understand this term and what to do to raise it?

Synesthesia and epilepsy

Brain research has shown that synesthesia is the closest to temporal epilepsy. It is a disease in which seizures occur as a result of chaotic electrical discharges of the brain’s neurons. During this procedure, the patient may have visual and auditory illusions, etc. It should be remembered, however, that epilepsy is a pathological phenomenon. Meanwhile, natural synesthesia is not caused by any brain disorder.

Synesthesia and autism

People often wonder if synesthesia is a form of autism. The way people with two neurodevergences respond to stimuli overlap. However, autism and synesthesia are two different things. You can have one or both.

Interestingly, higher than average number of people with autism also have synesthesia. A 2020 study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders found that among people with autism, this figure could be as high as 20 percent.