title: Induced cross-modal synaesthetic experience without abnormal neuronal connections.
abstract: Are the kinds of abnormal cross-modal interactions seen in synaesthesia or following brain damage due to hyperconnectivity between or within brain areas, or are they a result of lack of inhibition? This question is highly contested. Here we show that posthypnotic suggestion induces abnormal cross-modal experience similar to that observed in congenital grapheme-color synaesthesia. Given the short time frame of the experiment, it is unlikely that new cortical connections were established, so we conclude that synaesthesia can result from disinhibition between brain areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom. r.cohenkadosh@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Roi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cohen Kadosh
authors.forename: Avishai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Henik
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Catena
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Luis J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Fuentes
mesh_terms: D003118:Color Perception; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult