Synästhesie

Allgemein

Richard E. Cytowic, MD
Richard E. Cytowic - neuroman@glib.org
Richard Edmund Cytowic, M.D. has authored both neurology textbooks and popular works. He is worldwide well known for his popular book about synesthesia "The Man Who Tasted Shapes" (1998). On his website you will find a lot of information about synesthesia and other topics as well:

http://www.zzapp.org/neuroman/ 

Synästhesie
Thomas Walser
Synästhesie, übersetzt heisst das Vermischung der Sinne, ist eine seltsame Laune der Natur. Die Sinnesreize werden bei Synästhetiker nicht sauber getrennt, sondern zu einem neuen Muster verwoben. Wie dieses Muster aussieht, hängt vom Individuum ab. Synästhetiker spüren z.B. Geschmack als ein geometrisches Muster auf der Haut, Farben können ein intensives Geruchserlebnis auslösen oder sie können Töne sehen. Viele werden sich fragen, werden die nicht verrückt, bei all dem Zeug, das da in ihrem Kopf vor sich geht? Aber das ist, wie wenn ein Blinder zu ihnen sagt: Oh je, wie können Sie das nur aushalten: Wohin Sie sich auch wenden, überall müssen Sie etwas sehen. Für uns ist das aber ganz normal. Und so haben Synästhetiker ebenso IHRE Realität. Sie sind geistig völlig normal. Sie erleben nur die Welt anders als die meisten von uns.
http://www.dr-walser.ch/synaesthesie.htm

Synaesthesia || Doctor Hugo || Museums of the Mind ||
Doctor Hugo - to@doctorhugo.org
Overview of resources on synaesthesia & the arts, experiment and research. Homepage of the Belgian International Synaesthesia Association [ISA]
http://www.doctorhugo.org/synaesthesia/index.htm 

Synästhesie
Volker Lange
Der Neurologe Dr. Richard Cytowic ist einer der ganz wenigen Experten, die sich mit Synästhesie beschäftigen. Viele Mediziner sehen in dem Phänomen nur eine Krankheitserscheinung: Etwa bei Schizophrenie oder Drogenmißbrauch. Cytowic wies dagegen nach, daß Synästhetiker geistig völlig normal sind. Sie erleben nur die Welt anders als die meisten von uns..
Synästhesie hat nichts mit Assoziation oder Einbildung zu tun. Sie ist eine andere Wahrnehmung der Wirklichkeit die auf einer anderen Konstruktion des Gehirns beruht. Die Sinnesreize werden bei Synästhetikern nicht sauber getrennt, sondern zu einem neuen Muster verwoben. Wie dieses Muster aussieht, hängt vom Individuum ab.

Manche Synästhetiker können Töne sehen, bei anderen lösen Farben ein intensives Geschmackserlebnis aus, wieder andere spüren Gerüche als Muster auf der Haut. Für Menschen mit üblicher Wahrnehmung ist eine solche Vermischung der Sinne sicher schwer vorstellbar. Sie klingt allzu sehr nach Halluzinationen. Doch Dr. Cytowic hat inzwischen gelernt, sehr schnell herauszufinden, ob er einen Menschen mit einer übersteigerten Phantasie oder mit synästhetischer Wahrnehmung vor sich hat.Über 60 Synästetiker hat der Neurologe bisher untersucht. Einige seiner Klienten haben aufgezeichnet, was sich da vor ihren Augen abspielt.
http://www.morgenwelt.de/magazin/repo-1.htm

Synesthesia: Phenomenology And Neuropsychology
Richard E. Cytowic - neuroman@glib.org
Synesthesia (Greek, syn = together + aisthesis = perception) is the involuntary physical experience of a cross-modal association. That is, the stimulation of one sensory modality reliably causes a perception in one or more different senses. Its phenomenology clearly distinguishes it from metaphor, literary tropes, sound symbolism, and deliberate artistic contrivances that sometimes employ the term "synesthesia" to describe their multisensory joinings. An unexpected demographic and cognitive constellation co-occurs with synesthesia: females and non-right-handers predominate, the trait is familial, and memory is superior while math and spatial navigation suffer. Synesthesia appears to be a left-hemisphere function that is not cortical in the conventional sense. The hippocampus is critical for its experience. Five clinical features comprise its diagnosis. Synesthesia is "abnormal" only in being statistically rare. It is, in fact, a normal brain process that is prematurely displayed to consciousness in a minority of individuals.
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-10-cytowic.html

Synaesthesis: To Hear Colors, Taste Shapes and Experience Other Startling Sensory Blending
In psychology we often find different "levels" of thought on the same topic. Some consider synaesthesis a state of awareness that is attainable for all, a perspective on the world (Andrews, 1978). In his article Synaesthesia: Phenomenology and Neuropsychology (1995), Richard Cytowic describes a multitude of interesting trends that he has discovered in his research with synaesthetes. Cytowic believes that the synaesthetic capacity is quite rare, he estimates 1 in 25,000 individuals.

Synaesthetes are "more prone to unusual experiences than one might expect... deja vu, clairvoyance, precognitive dreams, and a feeling of presence are encountered enough. Single instances in my experience include empathetic healing and psychokinesis." I suggest Cytowic's article because it contains a sea of information about the topic. He discusses his criteria for a clinical diagnosis of synaesthesia. They are that synaesthesia is involuntary, projected, durable, memorable, and emotional. These criteria account for his low estimate of "true synaesthetes".

Another leading researcher in synaesthesia in Baron-Cohen. In an interesting article, Baron-Cohen explains his Neonatal Synaesthesia Hypothesis (1993), "that early in infancy, probably up to four months of age, all babies experience sensory input in an undifferentiated way. Sound triggers both auditory, visual and tactile experiences. A truly psychedelic state." Baron-Cohen's article is both interesting and well written.

Another interesting article about synaesthesia examines the occurrence of synaesthetic metaphors in literature. Day (1995) finds that, in a sample of English literature, 42.6% of literary metaphors are from hearing to touch. He finds that there are three times as many such metaphors as the next runner up category (hearing to taste). Day's article is interesting. He also analyses a sample of German literature and compares findings.

Also visit Christina's web cite for more interesting perspectives on synaesthesia.
http://www2.ucsc.edu/~jahson/synaesthesis.html

Synesthesia: The Sound of Colors
Otto H. MacLin
Synesthesia is a condition where sensations usually experienced in a single modality are experienced in two modalities. This condition, and the people who experience it, give psychologists some very interesting data and research. Some examples of synesthesia are receiving an auditory signal or sensation in a visual modality, where it obviously shouldn’t be.

Synesthesia is rule governed, not random. For example, there is a positive relationship between increasing the pitch of a sound and increased brightness.
http://unr.edu/homepage/otto/CH10/synesthesia.html

Synesthesia and Method
Kevin B. Korb - korb@cs.monash.edu.au
Richard Cytowic's two recent books on synesthesia, his textbook Synesthesia: A Union of the Senses (1989) and his popular The Man Who Tasted Shapes (1993), have done much to raise the level of awareness of synesthesia. Cytowic's treatment can be seen as a challenge to the academic community to acknowledge the existence of synesthesia and to deal with its implications for medical and scientific practice and for our understanding of the nature of sensation. The study of synesthesia raises interesting questions about scientific method, both because of the negative reception it received initially--often being viewed as tainted by a reliance upon introspective reports--and because of the connections Cytowic has found between synesthetic perception and the limbic system, thereby possibly undermining some of the claims to objectivity in perception and scientific method. I dispute some of the more extreme methodological conclusions Cytowic draws from his work and reinforce others by reference to different arguments current within the philosophy of science.
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-24-korb.html

ABC Radio National - Health Report Transcript - 8 July 1996: Synesthesia
Dr Richard Cytowic revived interest in synesthesia with his fascinating book 'The Man Who Tasted Shapes'. He's a neurologist who's also qualified in psychology and opthalmology and he's spent many years studying synesthesia.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/hstories/hr080796.htm

Synaesthesia
This site is a compilation of the information available on synaesthesia from both other internet sites and traditional sources. So, to learn more fascinating things about synaesthesia, please browse through the following pages of our site:

http://www.macalester.edu/~psych/whathap/UBNRP/synesthesia/main.html

Synaesthesia and Consciousness Studies
Christopher Watkins
The following dissertation reviews the current literature concerning a phenomenon called synaesthesia (commonly called joint perception) which is traditionally thought to exist only in rare cases. Due to recent findings in the field, speculation is made regarding the possibility that all humans possess the ability to experience synaesthesia, but in most people it is unavailable to our consciousness. The suggestion that conscious synaesthetic experience could be applied to studies of consciousness is looked into, with some possible future empirical investigations proposed which could find out if synaesthesia can aid the search for a theory of consciousness.
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~cwatkins/synaesth.htm

Synesthesia - the mixing of the senses
Recent neurological studies suggest the possibility that the executive areas of the human brain, primarily in the frontal lobes, manifest a high degree of sensory integration. This integration is found apparantly throughout the neocortex, both at the neuron level (Stein & Meredith 1993) as well as in groups of neurons and large cortical areas, for example the principle sulcus of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (e.g. see Goldman-Rakic 1984).

Implied in this is the possibility that the brain, when it performs abstraction, is relying on a hybrid sensory system. This paper analizes thought processes and the possible ramifications of hybridization on perception.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ddiamond/synth.html

Is There a Normal Phase of Synaesthesia in Development?
Simon Baron-Cohen - sb205@cus.cam.ac.uk
Synaesthesia (one sense triggering another) has recently become amenable to scientific investigation. Recent findings are reviewed. Maurer's developmental theory of synaesthesia is then discussed. The theory states that all human neonates have synaesthesia, but that by about 4 months of age the senses have become modularized to the extent that we no longer have synaesthesia. Possible ways of testing this important theory are described, and the distinction between this account and cross-modal matching (Meltzoff) is clarified.
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v2/psyche-2-27-baron_cohen.html

Synesthesia
Tamara Alexandrov
Synesthesia is defined by the appearance of involuntary cross-modal perceptions in response to sensory stimuli. Widely studied in the nineteenth century, synesthesia is only just gaining acceptance again as a condition with physiological causes. The most common type of synesthesia is colored-hearing. Investigations into the physiological nature of synesthesia have commenced using the new technology of brain imaging techniques. Results are as yet inconclusive. Synesthetic experiences evoked by drug use support the existence of the condition as an anatomical anomaly. Synesthesia may be inheritable and is more common among women and those who are left-handed. There is most likely a relation between the common occurrence of metaphor and cross-modal association among people and synesthesia. The relation may be a developmental one.
http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/mcb165/mcb165sp98tPaper/mcb165sp98R.manuscript/_837.html

Viral - What - Synesthesia(2)
red rings louder in your eye and a taste of blue lingers at your fingertips. You have a neighbor whose consistently green voice grates against his consistently deep -blue suit. Nobody seems to understand. There are things you hear, things that you touch - that you cannot talk about. You don’t believe yourself to be mad, or if you are, you no longer believe in what the word implies.
You don’t believe you’re hallucinating...hallucinations should make less sense. This...this is an abundance of sense.
http://www.ad-i.com/viral/what/synes2.html

The Synesthetic Experience
This site provides information about the neurological condition called synesthesia. We hope to give viewers a sense of different synesthetes' personal perceptual abilities. Equally important, however, is the idea that a creative person can also use his/her unique synesthetic abilities to make a living and bring significant contributions to the world. Such talents as utilized by artists and other creative individuals are highlighted within. Because there are different forms of synesthesia, many links between the senses, we have also linked this page to others which communicate the synesthetic experience in different ways.
http://web.mit.edu/synesthesia/www/synesthesia.html

Synesthesia
Sam Scott - sscott@ccs.carleton.ca
Synaesthesia is a little-known and rather poorly-understood condition in which two or more senses mingle into one.  One of the most common forms is the experience of colors linked to words, letters and numbers. Others can see music, smell colors, or even taste words.  Most synaesthetes think nothing of these associations and initially assume that everyone experiences them.  As a result, many of them can vividly recall the moment they realized that they were different.

According to current theory, synaesthesia is a genetic condition produced by a dominant gene on the X chromosome.  This explains observed patterns of inheritance in families of synaesthetes.  It is believed most people are born with neural connections between the sensory areas of the brain which are eventually lost.  Synaesthetes retain these connections into adulthood.  Researchers also believe that these connections do not involve higher cortical functions.  According to one estimate, approximately 1 in 25000 people experience some form of synaesthesia.
http://wabakimi.carleton.ca/~sscott2/sam/Synaesthesia.html

Synesthesia and Artistic Experimentation
Crétien van Campen - c.van.campen@scp.nl
Richard Cytowic has argued that synesthetic experimentation by modern artists was based on deliberate contrivances of sensory fusion and not on involuntary experiences of cross-modal association. He has placed artistic experiments with sensory fusion outside the domain of synesthesia research. Artistic experiments, though historically interesting, are considered irrelevant for the study of synesthesia. Contrary to this view I argue that at least Scriabin's and Kandinsky's artistic experiments were based on involuntary experiences of synesthesia. They were investigating perceptual and emotional mechanisms of involuntary synesthetic experiences that meet Cytowic's criteria of synesthesia. Artistic experiments are not only historically interesting, but may also contribute to present synesthesia research.
http://psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/v3/psyche-3-06-vancampen.html

Zur Differenzierung von Synästhesien und intermodalen Analogien
Klaus-Ernst Behne
Mit Synästhesie in einem sehr weiten Begriffsverständnis werden in der Literatur Phänomene bezeichnet, bei denen bestimmte Reize ungewöhnliche, sinnesübergreifen de Wahrnehmungsqualitäten provozieren. Wenn Personen über farbige Muster beim Hören von Akkorden, über Formvorstellungen bei bestimmten Gerüchen oder über farbige Vokale berichten, so werden sie als Synästheten eingestuft. Es hat verschiedene Ansätze gegeben, die Vielfalt der synästhetischen Phänomene zu gliedern, zu klassifizieren (z.B. Wellek 1963), die sich jedoch nicht durchgesetzt haben. Aufgrund von neueren Studien (Cytovic 1989) bzw. Argumentationen (Behne 1992, i.V.) lassen sich jedoch zwei Phänomene unterscheiden, die ganz offenkundig nicht identisch sind, nämlich Synästhesie sensu Cytovic und intermodale Analogien.

Von Synästhesie sollte man sprechen, wenn ein bestimmter Stimulus zwangsmäßig eine Empfindung in einem anderen Sinnesmodus auslöst; es handelt sich hierbei um quantitativ sehr seltene und neurologisch sehr ungewöhnliche Phänomene (Cytovic). Intermodale Analogien hingegen scheinen bei den meisten Menschen dann provoziert zu werden, wenn man sie beispielsweise fragt: Welche Farbe paßt zu diesem Ton?
http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/muwi/publ/fs_fricke/behne.html

The Dream of Color Music, 
And Machines That Made it Possible
William Moritz - info@awn.com
Ancient Greek philosophers, like Aristotle and Pythagoras, speculated that there must be a correlation between the musical scale and the rainbow spectrum of hues. That idea fascinated several Renaissance artists including Leonardo da Vinci (who produced elaborate spectacles for court festivals), Athanasius Kircher (the popularizer of the "Laterna Magica" projection apparatus) and Archimboldo who (in addition to his eerie optical-illusion portraits composed of hundreds of small symbolic objects) produced entertainments for the Holy Roman Emperors in Prague.
http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.1/articles/moritz2.1.html

SYNAESTHESIA
Sean A. Day - daysa@cc.ncu.edu.tw
Synaesthesia may be divided into two general, somewhat overlapping types.  The first, which I sometimes call "synaesthesia proper", is as described above, in which stimuli to a sensory input will also trigger sensations in one or more other sensory modes.  The second form of synaesthesia, which I call "cognitive" or "category synaesthesia", involves synaesthetic additions to culture-bound cognitive categorizational systems.  In simpler words, with this kind of synaesthesia, certain sets of things which our indivual cultures teach us to put together and categorize in some specific way -- like letters, numbers, or people's names -- also get some kind of sensory addition, such as a smell, color or flavor.  The most common forms of cognitive synaesthesia involve such things as colored written letter characters (graphemes), numbers, time units, and musical notes or keys.  For example, the synaesthete might see, about a foot or two before her (the majority of synaesthetes are female), different colors for different spoken vowel and consonant sounds, or perceive numbers and letters, whether conceptualized or before her in print, as colored. 

http://www.ncu.edu.tw/~daysa/synesthesia.htm