Synaesthesia.
Synaesthesia is the intriguing, involuntary experience of feeling one sensation in response to a different sensory stimulus. Recognised since described in 1890 by John Locke and clarified by Galton in the 1880s, it has been analysed in the last 50 years. Grapheme-colour synaesthesia is the commonest form, but many other sensory linkages are reported. Experiments show that it is a genuine immediate perception, not merely a memory or learned association. Many of the mechanisms posited are based on indirect methods, and we know little of the neurophysiological mechanisms.
Pearce
J M S
JM
Department of Neurology, Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull, UK.
D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000266:history* / Q000503:physiopathology*