Psychiatr. pro Praxi, 2010; 11(4): 152-155
Synaesthesia: the current state of affairs
- Ústav všeobecného lékařství 1. LF UK, Praha
- Psychiatrická ambulance IKEM, Praha
Synaesthesia is an experience in which stimulation in one sensory or cognitive stream leads to associated experiences in a second unstimulated
stream. People with color-graphemic synaesthesia experience vivid, reliable color upon viewing achromatic alphanumeric
characters. Recent evidence indicates that synaesthetic color experiences are as perceptually real as actual colors are for non-synaestetic
observers, even in internally generated stimuli. It has been also suggested that individuals with synaesthesia may show hightened
creativity as a result of being able to form meaningful association between these disparate stimuli. The present paper summarizes our
current knowledge concerning synaesthesia including the personal experiences of some synesthetes with this peculiar gift.
Keywords: synaesthesia, creativity, neurophysiology, personal experience
Published: December 1, 2010 Show citation
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