What is synesthesia article?

Introduction. Synesthesia is a condition in which individuals experience atypical responses to certain types of stimuli, in addition to the typical responses elicited by those stimuli. For example, a synesthete may perceive tastes when seeing certain shapes or might perceive colors when seeing achromatic letters.

Are synesthetes Neurodivergent?

A brief history of synesthesia The unusual nature of these reports combined with inherent difficulty of verifying personal accounts has frequently lead researchers to conclude that synesthetes are either confabulating, schizophrenic, or using hallucinogens (Day 2002).

What is synesthesia in literature?

In literature, synesthesia refers to an author’s blending of human senses to describe an object. Phrases like a “loud dress” or a “chilly gaze” blend our sensory modalities. Novelists and poets who use synesthesia in literature include: Dante in The Divine Comedy (1472): “Back to the region where the sun is silent.”

Can synesthesia be acquired?

Synaesthesia may have a genetic basis resulting in enhanced cortical connectivity during development. However, in some cases synaesthesia has a sudden onset, for example, caused by posthypnotic suggestions, drug exposure, or brain injury. Synaesthesia may even be acquired by training in adulthood.

Is synesthesia a bad thing?

No, synesthesia is not a disease. In fact, several researchers have shown that synesthetes can perform better on certain tests of memory and intelligence. Synesthetes as a group are not mentally ill. They test negative on scales that check for schizophrenia, psychosis, delusions, and other disorders.

Is synesthesia unique?

The word “synesthesia” is derived from Greek and literally means “concomitant sensations.” People with this condition — often referred to as “synesthetes” — experience a unique blending of two senses or perceptions.

Is synesthesia on the autism spectrum?

Interestingly, synesthesia is more common in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) [24,25,26].

What qualifies as neurodivergent?

A relatively new term, neurodivergent simply means someone who thinks differently from the way the majority (referred to as neurotypical) expect. Neurotypical means the opposite –someone whose brain behaves in the same way as the majority of society.

Why are synesthesia used?

Synesthesia allows authors to deliver another level of description in literature. It challenges readers to think out of the box and reinterpret their senses as they know them.

What are some common synesthesia expressions?

However, in casual conversation, we hear phrases like “cool dress,”, “cool color,” or “you look cool,” wherein the visual sensation is blended with the sense of touch. Moreover, we commonly hear phrases like “loud colors,” “frozen silence,” “warm colors,” and “bitter cold.”

Can drugs induce synesthesia?

Studies of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, LSD and mescaline, reveal that exposure to these drugs can induce synesthesia. One neurotransmitter suspected to be central to the perceptual changes is serotonin. Excessive serotonin in the brain may cause many of the characteristics of psychedelic intoxication.

Can synesthesia cause brain damage?

Though most cases of synesthesia appear to be developmental, acquired cases have also been reported following traumatic brain injury, damage to the brain’s white matter, strokes, brain tumors, posttraumatic blindness and diseases of the optic nerve in the eye.

Which is an example of a synaesthetic experience?

Synaesthesia is an intriguing phenomenon in which a single stimulus triggers the occurrence of one or more additional experiences—either in the same or in different sensory modalities (Grossenbacher & Lovelace, 2001). For example, some synaesthetes see colours when they listen to music, or smell particular odours or tastes.

How is sexual arousal an inducer of synaesthesia?

Introduction: Synaesthesia is a phenomenon in which a certain stimulus induces a concurrent sensory perception; it has an estimated prevalence of 4%. Sexual arousal as an inducer for synaesthetic perceptions is rarely mentioned in the literature but can be found sometimes in case reports about subjective orgasmic experiences.

What is the name of the latest synaesthesia book?

Thus, the name of the latest version, OAVAV, is a composition of the capital letters representing the five subscales in German: Oceanic boundlessness, dread of ego dissolution, visionary restructuralization, reduction of vigilance, and auditive alterations ( Passie, 2007 ).

How is synesthesia a blending of the senses?

Synesthesia is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality.