What is synaesthesia?

In short, synaesthesia is the name given to the phenomenon of one sensory input automatically and consistently triggering a second, different sensation.

This can involve the sound or sight of a letter triggering the sensation of colours (e.g. r = light violet), music triggering the sensation of moving shapes (e.g. a middle c played on a clarinet = three swirling diagonal lines moving from left to right), or the sound of a word triggering a taste in the mouth (emancipate = fresh strawberry jam).

This will seem very real and obvious to the person experiencing it, and the same pairings will have been there since birth. So if r is light violet, it will never change to green or red.

It can occur between any two sensations in theory. The most common pairings are colours for vocalised or read sequences, such as days of the week, letters/numbers, school subjects and months. Other common sub-types include moving colours or shapes for sounds such as music or every day noises like hands clapping, a drawer closing, or an engine running, and tastes for words that are not taste-related.

People who have synaesthesia describe it as a positive experience, and we are investigating it not to ‘fix it', but to better understand sensory integration in the human brain. It has been documented in literature for hundreds of years but only recently have scientific bodies begun to fully support research into it. One theory argues that because synaesthesia is so long-standing, there must be an evolutionary benefit to having it.

About 4% of the UK population experience synaesthesia. Our research continues with participation from those who are both fortune enough to experience it and keen to support the investigation into the basis of the phenomenon.

What does your research entail?

Catherine Mulvenna has a full time research programme dedicated to investigating the basis of synaesthesia and its cognitive and behavioural effects. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, and carried out in the Visual Cognition Lab, of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University College London.

When people take part in our research, it can involve anything from filling out the initial questionnaire to coming into the lab to do computer based tasks involving colour, or having your brain scanned. Involvement is 100% voluntary and any time in the lab is compensated. The specific aspects we are investigating include the following: the time course of synaesthetic experience, where in the brain is involved in the synaesthetic process, how triggered synaesthetic experiences relate to externally generated sensations, what properties of sound effect the triggered sensation, the relationship between having cross-sensory experiences and artistic pursuit, creative innovation, intelligence, spatial awareness and memory.

We are extremely appreciative of the individuals who make continuation of this research possible by taking part, and strive to make it as interesting and educational for them as it is for us.

I have a question about synaesthesia, who can I ask?

The person whose full research programme is dedicated to synaesthesia is Catherine Mulvenna and she is happy for you to contact her on c.mulvenna_at_ucl.ac.uk . There may be a small backlog, but you will receive a confirmation email and answers to your questions as soon as possible. We appreciate your contribution and naturally your contact details and cross-sensory information is held confidentially [under the Data Protection Act, 1988].

I think I might have synaesthesia, what do I do?

We encourage you to fill out the Synaesthesia Questionnaire, the Synaesthesia Checklist, and (if it applies to you) Your Colours and email or post the responses to us. There may be a small backlog, but you will receive a confirmation email and answers to your questions as soon as possible. We appreciate your contribution and naturally your contact details and cross-sensory information is held confidentially [under the Data Protection Act, 1988].

I'm not sure if I really have synaesthesia, what should I do?

It is common for synaesthetes to feel their experiences couldn't possibly be unusual because they come so naturally. Many synaesthetes learn that others do not share their experiences early in life and prefer to keep it private. Others only discover it later and can be thoroughly surprised that the rest of us have been living in a less perceptually interesting world all this time.

There is a simple screening process to distinguish synaesthesia from other very similar cross-sensory experiences and if you contact us, regardless of which category you eventually fall into, you will be providing us with valuable information about sensory integration. So we encourage you to simply fill out the Synaesthesia Questionnaire, the Synaesthesia Checklist, and (if it applies to you) Your Colours and email or post the responses to us.

There may be a small backlog, but you will receive a confirmation email and answers to your questions as soon as possible. We appreciate your contribution and naturally your contact details and cross-sensory information is held confidentially [under the Data Protection Act, 1988].

My wife/boyfriend/cousin/mum/neighbour has been talking about something like this for a while but I never understood what they meant, should they get in touch with you?