05-02-2014, 12:00 AM
Synæsthesia phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway - attention.
Difficulties have been recognized in adequately defining synesthesia. Many different phenomena have been included in the term synesthesia ("union of the senses"), and in many cases the terminology seems to be inaccurate. A more accurate term may be ideasthesia.
In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme → color synesthesia or color-graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored. In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, and/or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (for example, 40000B.C. may be "farther away" than 2000B.C.), or may appear as a three-dimensional map (clockwise or counterclockwise).FormsSynesthesia can occur between nearly any two senses or perceptual modes, and at least one synesthete, Solomon Shereshevsky, experienced synesthesia that linked all five senses. Types of synesthesia are indicated by using the notation x → y, where x is the "inducer" or trigger experience, and y is the "concurrent" or additional experience. For example, perceiving letters and numbers (collectively called graphemes) as colored would be indicated as grapheme → color synesthesia. Similarly, when synesthetes see colors and movement as a result of hearing musical tones, it would be indicated as tone → (color, movement) synesthesia.While nearly every logically possible combination of experiences can occur, several types are more common than others.Grapheme-color In one of the most common forms of synesthesia, individual letters of the alphabet and numbers (collectively referred to as graphemes) are "shaded" or "tinged" with a color.As a child, Pat Duffy told her father, "I realized that to make an R all I had to do was first write a P and draw a line down from its loop. And I was so surprised that I could turn a yellow letter into an orange letter just by adding a line."ChromesthesiaAnother common form of synesthesia is the association of sounds with colors. For some, everyday sounds such as doors opening, cars honking, or people talking can trigger seeing colors. For others, colors are triggered when musical notes and/or keys are being played. People with synesthesia related to music may also have perfect pitch because their ability to see/hear colors aids them in identifying notes or keys.The colors triggered by certain sounds, and any other synesthetic visual experiences, are referred to as photisms.According to Richard Cytowic, sound → color synesthesia, or chromesthesia is "something like fireworks": voice, music, and assorted environmental sounds such as clattering dishes or dog barks trigger color and firework shapes that arise, move around, and then fade when the sound ends. Sound often changes the perceived hue, brightness, scintillation, and directional movement. Some individuals see music on a "screen" in front of their faces. For Deni Simon, music produces waving lines "like oscilloscope configurations – lines moving in color, often metallic with height, width and, most importantly, depth. My favorite music has lines that extend horizontally beyond the 'screen' area."Spatial sequenceThose with spatial sequence synesthesia (SSS) tend to see numerical sequences as points in space. For instance, the number 1 might be farther away and the number 2 might be closer. People with SSS may have superior memories; in one study, they were able to recall past events and memories far better and in far greater detail than those without the condition. They also see months or dates in the space around them. Some people see time like a clock above and around them.Number form
A number form from one of Francis Galton's subjects Note how the first 12 digits correspond to a clock face.A number form is a mental map of numbers that automatically and involuntarily appears whenever someone who experiences number forms thinks of numbers. Number forms were first documented and named by Francis Galton in "The Visions of Sane Persons"Auditory - tactileIn auditory → tactile synesthesia, certain sounds can induce sensations in parts of the body. Auditory → tactile synesthesia may originate from birth or be acquired sometime later in life.It is one of the rarest forms of synesthesia.MisophoniaDisorder in which negative experiences (anger, flight, hatred, disgust) are triggered by specific sounds. Richard Cytowic suggests that misophonia is related to, or perhaps a variety of, synesthesia. Distortion of connections between the auditory cortex and limbic structures causes a form of sound-emotion synthesis."Mirror-touch SynesthesiaThis is a rare form of synesthesia where individuals literally feel the same sensation that another person feels (such as touch. For instance, when such a synesthete observes someone being tapped on their shoulder, they synesthete involuntarily feels a tap on their own shoulder as well. People with this type of synesthesia have been shown to have higher empathy levels compared to the general population. This may be related to the so-called mirror neurons present in the motor areas of the brain, which have also been linked to empathy.Lexical-GustatoryCertain tastes are experienced when hearing words. For example, the word basketball might taste like waffles. It is estimated that 0.2% of the population has this form of synesthesia[citation needed].
Reaction times for answers that are congruent with a synesthete’s automatic colors are faster than those whose answers are incongruent.[3] The automaticity of synesthetic experience. A synesthete might perceive the left panel like the panel on the right.Preferences for the color of each letter (e.g. A tends to be red; O tends to be white or black; S tends to be yellow etc.Nonetheless, there is a great variety in types of synesthesic experience and within each type, individuals report differing triggers for their sensations and differing intensities of experiences.
Synesthesia is involuntary and automatic.
Synesthetic perceptions are spatially extended, meaning they often have a sense of "location." For example, synesthetes speak of "looking at" or "going to" a particular place to attend to the experience.
Synesthetic percepts are consistent and generic (i.e. simple rather than pictorial).
Synesthesia is highly memorable.
Synesthesia is laden with affect.
Cytowic's early cases mainly included individuals whose synesthesia was frankly projected outside the body (e.g. on a "screen" in front of one's face). Later research showed that such stark externalization occurs in a minority of synesthetes. Refining this concept, Cytowic and Eagleman differentiated between "localizers" and "non-localizers" to distinguish those synesthetes whose perceptions have a definite sense of spatial quality from those whose perceptions do not.Mechanism Regions thought to be cross-activated in grapheme-color synesthesia (green=grapheme recognition area, red=V4 color area).Dedicated regions of the brain are specialized for given functions. Increased cross-talk between regions specialized for different functions may account for the many types of synesthesia. For example, the additive experience of seeing color when looking at graphemes might be due to cross-activation of the grapheme-recognition area and the color area called V4. This is supported by the fact that grapheme-color synesthetes are able to identify the color of a grapheme in their peripheral vision even when they cannot consciously identify the shape of the grapheme.[25]An alternate possibility is disinhibited feedback, or a reduction in the amount of inhibition along normally existing feedback pathways. Normally, excitation and inhibition are balanced. However, if normal feedback were not inhibited as usual, then signals feeding back from late stages of multi-sensory processing might influence earlier stages such that tones could activate vision. Cytowic and Eagleman find support for the disinhibition idea in the so-called acquired forms of synesthesia that occur in non-synesthetes under certain conditions: temporal lobe epilepsy, head trauma, stroke, and brain tumors. They also note that it can likewise occur during stages of meditation, deep concentration, sensory/attentive deprivatio. One type of application is the pain-reducing virtual reality program. In existing programs, the main purpose is to reduce pain when undergoing a specific treatment by shifting the attention from the experienced to the virtual program by using artificial synesthesia and combining various senses, this can help to enhance the control of a person’s attention, which can be used to improve and direct sensory distraction from the perceived dream. Shifting attention from attention to the program in which they have been introduced. Sense modalities (e.g. sound, sight, and touch) gives the perception of being immersed in innerly reflected environment, whichThe vOICePeter Meijer developed a sensory substitution device called The vOICe (the capital letters "O," "I," and "C" in "vOICe" are intended to evoke the expression "Oh I see"). The vOICe is a privately owned research project, running without venture capital, that was first implemented using low-cost hardware in 1991. The vOICe is a visual-to-auditory sensory substitution device (SSD) preserving visual detail at high resolution (up to 25,344 pixels).[67] The device consists of a laptop, head-mounted camera or computer camera, and headphones. The vOICe converts visual stimuli of the surroundings captured by the camera into corresponding aural representations (soundscapes) delivered to the user through senses at a default rate of one soundscape per second. Each soundscape is a left-to-right scan, with height represented by pitch, and brightness by loudnessThe process of converting greyscale camera images into soundscapes works according to three simple rules. The first is 'left and right' in which left-to-right scanning results in hearing the stereo pan from left to right correspondingly. If there is a visual pattern on the left, the user hears a sound on the left, and similarly for the right. The second rule is 'up and down': every scan provides a pitch that indicates elevation. The higher the position of the visual pattern, the higher the pitch. The third and final rule is 'dark and light': loudness corresponds to brightness. The louder the sound, the brighter the visual pattern. Silence indicates no light stimuli, the loudest sounds represent white light, and everything in between is a shade of grey.For example, a straight bright line on a dark background, running from the top left to the bottom right, would sound like a tone steadily decreasing in pitch; a dot would sound like a short beep; and two dots would sound like two short beeps. Since real-life images are much more complex.This lead to synthetic vision with truly visual sensations through crossmodal sensory integration through training and education. It makes it possible for people with color-blindness to hear colors.
Difficulties have been recognized in adequately defining synesthesia. Many different phenomena have been included in the term synesthesia ("union of the senses"), and in many cases the terminology seems to be inaccurate. A more accurate term may be ideasthesia.
In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme → color synesthesia or color-graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored. In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, and/or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (for example, 40000B.C. may be "farther away" than 2000B.C.), or may appear as a three-dimensional map (clockwise or counterclockwise).FormsSynesthesia can occur between nearly any two senses or perceptual modes, and at least one synesthete, Solomon Shereshevsky, experienced synesthesia that linked all five senses. Types of synesthesia are indicated by using the notation x → y, where x is the "inducer" or trigger experience, and y is the "concurrent" or additional experience. For example, perceiving letters and numbers (collectively called graphemes) as colored would be indicated as grapheme → color synesthesia. Similarly, when synesthetes see colors and movement as a result of hearing musical tones, it would be indicated as tone → (color, movement) synesthesia.While nearly every logically possible combination of experiences can occur, several types are more common than others.Grapheme-color In one of the most common forms of synesthesia, individual letters of the alphabet and numbers (collectively referred to as graphemes) are "shaded" or "tinged" with a color.As a child, Pat Duffy told her father, "I realized that to make an R all I had to do was first write a P and draw a line down from its loop. And I was so surprised that I could turn a yellow letter into an orange letter just by adding a line."ChromesthesiaAnother common form of synesthesia is the association of sounds with colors. For some, everyday sounds such as doors opening, cars honking, or people talking can trigger seeing colors. For others, colors are triggered when musical notes and/or keys are being played. People with synesthesia related to music may also have perfect pitch because their ability to see/hear colors aids them in identifying notes or keys.The colors triggered by certain sounds, and any other synesthetic visual experiences, are referred to as photisms.According to Richard Cytowic, sound → color synesthesia, or chromesthesia is "something like fireworks": voice, music, and assorted environmental sounds such as clattering dishes or dog barks trigger color and firework shapes that arise, move around, and then fade when the sound ends. Sound often changes the perceived hue, brightness, scintillation, and directional movement. Some individuals see music on a "screen" in front of their faces. For Deni Simon, music produces waving lines "like oscilloscope configurations – lines moving in color, often metallic with height, width and, most importantly, depth. My favorite music has lines that extend horizontally beyond the 'screen' area."Spatial sequenceThose with spatial sequence synesthesia (SSS) tend to see numerical sequences as points in space. For instance, the number 1 might be farther away and the number 2 might be closer. People with SSS may have superior memories; in one study, they were able to recall past events and memories far better and in far greater detail than those without the condition. They also see months or dates in the space around them. Some people see time like a clock above and around them.Number form
A number form from one of Francis Galton's subjects Note how the first 12 digits correspond to a clock face.A number form is a mental map of numbers that automatically and involuntarily appears whenever someone who experiences number forms thinks of numbers. Number forms were first documented and named by Francis Galton in "The Visions of Sane Persons"Auditory - tactileIn auditory → tactile synesthesia, certain sounds can induce sensations in parts of the body. Auditory → tactile synesthesia may originate from birth or be acquired sometime later in life.It is one of the rarest forms of synesthesia.MisophoniaDisorder in which negative experiences (anger, flight, hatred, disgust) are triggered by specific sounds. Richard Cytowic suggests that misophonia is related to, or perhaps a variety of, synesthesia. Distortion of connections between the auditory cortex and limbic structures causes a form of sound-emotion synthesis."Mirror-touch SynesthesiaThis is a rare form of synesthesia where individuals literally feel the same sensation that another person feels (such as touch. For instance, when such a synesthete observes someone being tapped on their shoulder, they synesthete involuntarily feels a tap on their own shoulder as well. People with this type of synesthesia have been shown to have higher empathy levels compared to the general population. This may be related to the so-called mirror neurons present in the motor areas of the brain, which have also been linked to empathy.Lexical-GustatoryCertain tastes are experienced when hearing words. For example, the word basketball might taste like waffles. It is estimated that 0.2% of the population has this form of synesthesia[citation needed].
Reaction times for answers that are congruent with a synesthete’s automatic colors are faster than those whose answers are incongruent.[3] The automaticity of synesthetic experience. A synesthete might perceive the left panel like the panel on the right.Preferences for the color of each letter (e.g. A tends to be red; O tends to be white or black; S tends to be yellow etc.Nonetheless, there is a great variety in types of synesthesic experience and within each type, individuals report differing triggers for their sensations and differing intensities of experiences.
Synesthesia is involuntary and automatic.
Synesthetic perceptions are spatially extended, meaning they often have a sense of "location." For example, synesthetes speak of "looking at" or "going to" a particular place to attend to the experience.
Synesthetic percepts are consistent and generic (i.e. simple rather than pictorial).
Synesthesia is highly memorable.
Synesthesia is laden with affect.
Cytowic's early cases mainly included individuals whose synesthesia was frankly projected outside the body (e.g. on a "screen" in front of one's face). Later research showed that such stark externalization occurs in a minority of synesthetes. Refining this concept, Cytowic and Eagleman differentiated between "localizers" and "non-localizers" to distinguish those synesthetes whose perceptions have a definite sense of spatial quality from those whose perceptions do not.Mechanism Regions thought to be cross-activated in grapheme-color synesthesia (green=grapheme recognition area, red=V4 color area).Dedicated regions of the brain are specialized for given functions. Increased cross-talk between regions specialized for different functions may account for the many types of synesthesia. For example, the additive experience of seeing color when looking at graphemes might be due to cross-activation of the grapheme-recognition area and the color area called V4. This is supported by the fact that grapheme-color synesthetes are able to identify the color of a grapheme in their peripheral vision even when they cannot consciously identify the shape of the grapheme.[25]An alternate possibility is disinhibited feedback, or a reduction in the amount of inhibition along normally existing feedback pathways. Normally, excitation and inhibition are balanced. However, if normal feedback were not inhibited as usual, then signals feeding back from late stages of multi-sensory processing might influence earlier stages such that tones could activate vision. Cytowic and Eagleman find support for the disinhibition idea in the so-called acquired forms of synesthesia that occur in non-synesthetes under certain conditions: temporal lobe epilepsy, head trauma, stroke, and brain tumors. They also note that it can likewise occur during stages of meditation, deep concentration, sensory/attentive deprivatio. One type of application is the pain-reducing virtual reality program. In existing programs, the main purpose is to reduce pain when undergoing a specific treatment by shifting the attention from the experienced to the virtual program by using artificial synesthesia and combining various senses, this can help to enhance the control of a person’s attention, which can be used to improve and direct sensory distraction from the perceived dream. Shifting attention from attention to the program in which they have been introduced. Sense modalities (e.g. sound, sight, and touch) gives the perception of being immersed in innerly reflected environment, whichThe vOICePeter Meijer developed a sensory substitution device called The vOICe (the capital letters "O," "I," and "C" in "vOICe" are intended to evoke the expression "Oh I see"). The vOICe is a privately owned research project, running without venture capital, that was first implemented using low-cost hardware in 1991. The vOICe is a visual-to-auditory sensory substitution device (SSD) preserving visual detail at high resolution (up to 25,344 pixels).[67] The device consists of a laptop, head-mounted camera or computer camera, and headphones. The vOICe converts visual stimuli of the surroundings captured by the camera into corresponding aural representations (soundscapes) delivered to the user through senses at a default rate of one soundscape per second. Each soundscape is a left-to-right scan, with height represented by pitch, and brightness by loudnessThe process of converting greyscale camera images into soundscapes works according to three simple rules. The first is 'left and right' in which left-to-right scanning results in hearing the stereo pan from left to right correspondingly. If there is a visual pattern on the left, the user hears a sound on the left, and similarly for the right. The second rule is 'up and down': every scan provides a pitch that indicates elevation. The higher the position of the visual pattern, the higher the pitch. The third and final rule is 'dark and light': loudness corresponds to brightness. The louder the sound, the brighter the visual pattern. Silence indicates no light stimuli, the loudest sounds represent white light, and everything in between is a shade of grey.For example, a straight bright line on a dark background, running from the top left to the bottom right, would sound like a tone steadily decreasing in pitch; a dot would sound like a short beep; and two dots would sound like two short beeps. Since real-life images are much more complex.This lead to synthetic vision with truly visual sensations through crossmodal sensory integration through training and education. It makes it possible for people with color-blindness to hear colors.