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Why do we separate each sense; taste, smell, sight, sound, and touch?

Synesthesia

​Disclaimer - Not intended for medical advice, consult your doctor.
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Synesthesia

See color as music, taste salt and see color; the ability to perceive through your senses information you receive intellectually.

 Learning Objectives - Synesthesia

  1. Define Synesthesia
  2. Criteria for Synesthesia
  3. Examples of forms of Synesthesia
  4. History and Research of Synesthesia

What is Synesthesia ?

Synesthesia is the ability to perceive through your senses information you receive intellectually. This can be experienced as associations of multiple senses,  when the stimulation of one sensory system leads to an experience in another system.  Why do we separate each sense; taste, smell, sight, sound, and touch? Yes, it is possible to have a blending of our senses in our experience the world.

Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which two or more senses experienced separately are involuntarily joined together. For instance, some synesthetes experience color when they hear sounds or read words. Others experience tastes, smells or shapes.

Statistics vary between one in 23 people have Synesthesia [1] and ten people in a million have Synesthesia.   Females outnumber males 6 to 1....  There is a strong link between Synesthesia and Photographic Memory. Many Synesthetes used their Synesthesia as a mnemonic aid. [2]

Synesthesia examples include; Seeing music as colors. Taste salt and see colors. Days of the week or months appear as colors. Numbers have shapes or colors. Feeling flavors as shapes. Cross-modal association is the comparison of one sense to another.

The word synesthesia comes from two Greek words, syn (together) and aisthesis (perception or sensation). Therefore, synesthesia literally means 'joined perception.' When one sensation leads to an experience of a second perception.

Cyto-architecture is a biology term used to describe the study of the arrangement of cells and how this affects the performance of each organ. Often referred to as study of the brain structure, 'cyto' means 'cells' and 'architecture' originates from Greek arkhitekton 'master builder.' Studying the architecture of the brain,  is analogous to the study of buildings, their manner of construction and the arrangement of their parts. As recently as 2002 scientists discovered photoreceptors called ganglion cells (RGC) in our eye's retina that respond to light and send signals to our circadian system.  Scientists continue to search for understanding of the brain circuits, receptors, and their functions. [3]

Synesthesia is part of the science of light and sight and this is why it is included here in ChromaTherapyLight.
What is Synesthesia?
"The colours my daughter 'sees' for each musical note."
Image by Jess, Photo by Andrew Bullock, 2009 [4]
Chromesthesia is also termed sound-color synesthesia.

Criteria for Synesthesia [5]

  1. The ability must be automatic and involuntary.
  2. The images must be specially extended meaning processed outside the body.
  3. Variances must be consistent and simple.
  4. The sensations need to be memorable, even months later.
  5. Perceptions need to be experiences as real and undeniably true, causing an emotional response in the person experiencing them.

Testing for Synesthesia

What is the Synesthesia Battery?
This battery of tests provides a standard battery of questions, tests and scoring. This test is available to the whole community of researchers and synesthetes for their use in making scientific progress. Your data will be kept entirely private, for use only by yourself, and by a researcher if you provide a valid email address for one.
http://www.synesthete.org/
Dr Joel Salinas Synesthesia Test
The University of Sussex Synesthesia Questionnaire is a more general research questionnaire about synesthesia as a whole without placing emphasis on any one specific subtype of synesthesia. If you do have synesthesia, the results from this study can also be used as a way for scientists to find volunteers for future synesthesia-related brain research.
https://joelsalinasmd.com/test/

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Mirror Touch : A Memoir of Synesthesia and the Secret Life of the Brain

Dr. Joel Salinas is a Harvard brain doctor with extraordinary gifts that provide him unique access to his patients and enable him to experience life in a remarkable way. He has mirror-touch synesthesia, a neurological trait that allows him to feel others’ emotions and physical sensations. Susceptible to the pain and discomfort of his patients—Salinas uses his heightened empathic ability—what he calls “compulsory mindfulness”—to help understand and better treat their conditions. Using his own experiences as a brain doctor and synesthete, Salinas also shares the remarkable stories of equally remarkable people who similarly live in a heightened state of awareness, whether because of ecstatic seizures from epilepsy, a congenital condition like autism, or after a seemingly debilitating stroke. Written with intelligence and compassion, and anchored by the latest of what we know and what we have yet to decipher in neurology, psychology, psychiatry, and the neurosciences, Mirror Touch is an enthralling investigation into the power of the brain—one that proves that the mind, in wondrous and mysterious fashion, continues to promise exciting and inexhaustible ways to think, to see, and to be.
Jason Padgett - Acquired Synesthesia and Savant Syndrome

Jason Padgett - Acquired Synesthesia and Savant Syndrome

Stuck by Genius: How a Brain Injury Made Me a Mathematical Marvel [book] by Jason Padgett and Maureen Ann Seaberg.
In this book, Jason Padgett discusses his recovery from head injury and recognizing his newly acquired math observations and insight about Pi, Fractals, and Fibonacci, termed Mathematical Synesthesia

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Philippa Stanton 
Artist with 
​Synaesthesia

See her new book "Conscious Creativity' coming out November 2018  http://www.5ftinf.com​
​For a beautiful color show, view her blogs on color from her September posts:
  • Purple Thursday…Catching Up with Colour
  • Blue Wednesday…Catching Up with Colour
  • Green Thursday…Catching Up with Colour
  • Yellow Wednesday…Catching Up with Colour

"Being synesthetic means that I can see sound, taste and smell in shape, colour and texture, which allows me to create unique portraits of people’s voices, food and drink.
Synaesthesia is a merging of the senses, and I see textured, colourful shapes in every taste, sound and smell..." [6]

Kandinsky and Other Artists

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Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944) is believed to have been a synesthetic artist who used sensory fusion in his art, composing paintings and music. His one-act opera of 1912 'The Yellow Sound' included color, light, dance, and sound. Thomas De Hartmann, Kandinsky's friend composed the music.

Many artists and composers have been quoted as saying they hear the colors or picture the color of the music.
American Synesthesia Association logo
Visit the American Synesthesia Association for articles, conferences, and support.  Additional groups can be found is UK and Canada.

History and Research

In 1892, Wellesely College, Associate Professor of Psychology, Mary Whiton Calkins, published her 28 page paper:  A Statistical Study of Pseudo-Chromesthesia and of Mental-Forms
In the 1970's Neurologist, Dr. Richard E. Cytowic, began studying and writing about Synesthesia, some of his books are listed below. I recommend 'The Man Who Tasted Shapes' as an introduction to the subject.

Books on Synesthesia

  • Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia  (MIT Press) Paperback – September 30, 2011, by Richard E. Cytowic MD (Author), David M. Eagleman PhD (Author), Dmitri Nabokov (Afterword)
  • The Man Who Tasted Shapes (MIT Press 1993) Paperback – August 11, 2003, by Richard E. Cytowic MD (Author), Jonathan Cole (Foreword)
  • Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens: How Synesthetes Color Their Worlds Hardcover – November 7, 2001, by Patricia Lynne Duffy 

Footnotes

  1. Simner J, Mulvenna C, Sagiv N, Tsakanikos E, Witherby SA, Fraser C, Scott K, Ward J (2006). "Synaesthesia: The prevalence of atypical cross-modal experiences" (PDF). Perception. 35: 1024–1033.
  2. The Man Who Tasted Shapes  (MIT Press) Paperback – August 11, 2003, by Richard E. Cytowic MD (Author), Jonathan Cole (Foreword)
  3. Brown University, Department of Neuroscience    https://neuroscience.brown.edu/Berson/research.html
  4. Image and Quote - Andrew Bullock, if you would like to be interviewed by ChromaTherapyLight, please contact me.
  5. Criteria for Synesthesia, Stuck by Genius: How a Brain Injury Made Me a Mathematical Marvel [book] by Jason Padgett and Maureen Ann Seaberg.
  6. Philippa Stanton  - Artist with ​Synaesthesia​ http://www.5ftinf.com/synaesthetic-painting/

Photo Credits

  • "The colours my daughter 'sees' for each musical note."Image by Jess, Photo by Andrew Bullock
  • Jason Padgett hand drawn fractals http://www.struckbygenius.com/
  • Table full of colors by Philippa Staton http://www.5ftinf.com​
  • Vassily Kandinsky, 1927 - Line Spot Wikipedia
Picture

Related Topics

Synesthesia Guest Editor, Color Blindness, Guidelines for Guest Editors

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  • Home
  • Color & Perception
    • CHROMA Topics
    • Color Spectrum - Light is Energy
    • Color in Light
    • Color in Nature
    • Color in Paint
    • Why does paint fade?
    • Color Names & Meanings
    • Color Phenomena
    • Color Perception is Individual
    • Color In Fashion
    • Color for your home
    • Color in Space
    • Color Blindness
    • Color Blind Interview
    • Synesthesia
    • Synesthete Deborah Borrowdale-Cox
    • Synesthete Stephen Orr, BH&G Editor
  • Circadian & Light for Health
    • Circadian & THERAPY Topics
    • Circadian Explained
    • Circadian Ganglion Cells
    • Circadian Melatonin
    • Circadian Animals
    • Circadian Research
    • Autism & Lighting for the Spectrum
    • Blue Light Dimming Apps
    • Red Night Lights
    • Vitamin D & Light
    • SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder
    • Alzheimers and Light Therapy
    • Photosensitivity - Light Sensitive Drugs
    • Red Light Therapy
    • Sleep & Lighting
    • Dreams and Second Sleep
    • NASA - Lighting in Space & Undersea
    • Jet Lag
    • Sunglasses
    • Chakras
    • Crystals, Minerals, & Gemstones
  • Lighting Design
    • LIGHTing Design Topics
    • UV Germicidal Disinfection Light
    • LED Lighting Facts Card
    • CRI - Color Rendering Index
    • LED TM-30
    • LED Kelvin Color
    • LED LPW
    • LED Flicker
    • LED Glare
    • OLED - Organic LED
    • Human Centric Lighting
    • Lighting with Daylighting
    • Lighting for Healthy Buildings & Zero Net Energy
    • Lighting for Healthcare
    • Lighting for Horticulture
    • Lighting for Hospitality & LED Retrofits
    • Lighting for Museums
    • Lighting for Seniors & Low Vision
    • Lighting Design Tips & Codes
    • Parking Lot Lighting
    • Solar Lighting for Humanity & World Health
  • Dark Sky Topics
    • Dark Sky & Light Pollution
    • Dark Sky - Ecology of Night Lighting
    • Dark Sky - Turtle Safe Lighting
    • Landscape Lighting
    • LED Street Lighting Retrofit in Davis
    • Dark Sky Ordinances
    • Dark Sky & Astronomy
    • Dark Sky Reserves
  • Lighting Research & Books
    • Lighting Research
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    • Lighting Education
  • ABOUT ChromaTherapyLight
    • About Topics
    • About Trish
    • Contact & Disclaimer
    • Social Media
    • Newsletter
    • Guidelines for Guest Writers
    • Site Map
  • Davis Insectary Garden
  • Santa Barbara Mesa Insectary Garden