A possible account of synaesthesia dating from the seventeenth century.
An account of a blind man able to detect colors by touch, dating from the mid-seventeenth century, is presented. The details come to us through the physician John Finch, the scientist Robert Boyle, and the author Jonathan Swift. The details in the account suggest the possibility that this may be an early report of colored-touch synaesthesia.
Larner
A J
AJ
Cognitive Function Clinic, Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Liverpool, United Kingdom. a.larner@thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk
D003116:Color; D049670:History, 17th Century; D006801:Humans; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000266:history*; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology