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THE HUMAN MIND

by DAVID GAMON, Ph.D.

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15 February 2000

How Do You Taste a Color? The Brain Basis of Synesthesia

Chances are, expressions like "a sharp flavor" and "a bright sound" make intuitive sense to you. The difference between you and people with synesthesia is that while for you such locutions are metaphorical, for a synesthete they're overwhelmingly literal.

Synesthesia refers to a vivid blending of different senses. Someone who experiences synesthesia on a consistent basis is called a synesthete. Only about ten in a million people are believed to have true synesthesia. Not surprisingly, some well-known synesthetes have been artists: Vladimir Nabokov, Vastly Kandinsky, and (probably) Arthur Rimbaud, for example.

In the brain of a synesthetically gifted individual studied by neurologist Richard Cytowic, blood-flow images showed a severe underactivation of the left cortex, while the limbic system beneath the cortex was strongly activated during a synesthetic experience. The cortex is the recently-evolved "thinking cap" of the human brain, accounting for most of the thoughts that reach our consciousness. The limbic system is our brain’s emotional center, and is evolutionarily more ancient. When our cortex is suppressed (as, for example, when we drink alcohol), the impulses of our limbic system are more readily available to awareness. (Stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine, by contrast, heighten cortical activity.)

One intriguing implication of these brain-scan findings is that we may all be synesthetes — only we don’t know it. Limbic brain structures such as the hippocampus, through which all sensory input passes, are blending color and sound, taste and texture, and light and smell all the time. Perhaps that's one reason why synesthetic metaphors such as "sharp flavor" make intuitive sense to all of us.


Related Links

Connexions
Current research in cognitive science, sponsored by the Hang Seng Centre for cognitive studies. The Connexions format is similar to that of a traditional academic journal -- they publish scholarly articles in numbered volumes and issues.

Institute of Cognitive Behavioral Sciences
This site is dedicated to those seeking Stress Identification and Management Techniques. it provides links to locations of interest that assist people in overcoming stress related illnesses.

Journal of Mind and Behavior
The Journal of Mind and Behavior (JMB) is dedicated to the interdisciplinary approach within psychology and related fields-building upon the assumption of a unified science. Includes prior issues.

Noetica - A Cognitive Science Forum
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ShuffleBrain
How does a brain store a mind? Amazing, thought-provoking stuff on the mind and the nature of experiential thought.

The University of Alberta's Cognitive Science Dictionary
This dictionary of cognitive science terms was initiated by Dr. Michael Dawson at the University of Alberta, Canada.

Other Links On ScienceMaster

Twenty Questions
This game uses left-brain categorization skills, short-term memory skills, logical thinking skills, and planning and organizational skills.

Mona Lisa
Try your hand, or mind we should say, at some mental exercises, illusions and games.

Books By David Gamon

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Other Books

The Mit Encyclopedia of the Cognitive Sciences • by Robert A. Wilson (Editor), Frank C. Keil (Editor)
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The Nature of Cognition • by Robert J. Sternberg (Editor)
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An Invitation to Cognitive Science: Language • by Lila R. Gleitman (Editor), Mark Liberman (Editor)
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Paperback 2nd edition Vol 1 (November 1995)
Mit Pr; ISBN: 0262650444


Last modified 13 February 2000
 
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