What is Synesthesia

Question 1

What does it look like when you have synesthesia?

Accepted Answer

People with synesthesia have the ability to crossover and fuse their 5 senses of seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and hearing.  They may see each letter of the alphabet in a distinct color while most people see black letters on white pages. They may taste shapes, hear or smell colors, see shapes and colors when listening to music, and more. Other synesthetes hear sounds in response to smell, who smell in response to touch, or who feel something in response to sight or injury. One woman saw the earth bathed in orange when she experienced pain.  Just about any combination of the senses is possible

Question 2

How common is synesthesia?

Accepted Answer

It is estimated that synesthesia occurs 1 in 200 people to 1 in 100,000 people with women being three times more likely to have it than men and left-handed people having it more often than right-handed people.  It is thought that synesthesia may be inherited through the X-chromosome. It tends to run in families.  Interestingly, synesthesia is associated with people who oftentimes are connected to the arts and sciences.

Question 3

Is Synesthesia a mental disorder?

Sharlene Habermeyer · Accepted Answer

It is suggested that synesthesia could be a disorder in some synesthetes, but not in others. Some synesthetes, like artist Carol Steen, considers it a “wonderful gift,” and believe it’s another form of consciousness. The shapes and colors she experiences when listening to music inspire her paintings. Vilayamur Ramachandran of the University of California at San Diego believes that synesthesia is “caused by genetic mutations that create dense neural connections between areas of the brain that process sensory information.” Richard Cytowic, the author of "The Man Who Tasted Shapes", has spent decades studying synesthesia. He thinks of synesthetes as “cognitive fossils” and will lead to a new model of the mind.

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