wednesday is indigo blue discovering the brain of synesthesia

Strainchamps: And so, that's one of the more common forms: letters or numbers that have colors, but there are others. And for each synesthete, of course, it's different they have a unique palate of associations that they make. Things like numbers and letters will trigger color experiences, so Wednesday will be indigo blue, and February will be yellow, and so on. It's probably the most common form of synesthesia.

Strainchamps: So, for some people, the color threeis blue, and the color fouris purple?Įagleman: That's right. So, for example, some people will hear music, and it causes them to see colors and other people will hear a name and it will put a taste in their mouth other people, they'll taste something, and it will make them feel like there's something being felt on their fingertips. It can be a mixture of the senses in any way that you can imagine. So, there are something like 150 different recorded forms of synesthesia.

Could you start, maybe, by giving us a sense of the range of experiences that people have?ĭavid Eagleman: Yeah. Today, scientists believe synesthesia affects an estimated 4% of the population.ĭavid Eagleman is a neurologist at the cutting edge of synesthesia research, and he's the co-author of the book “Wednesday is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia.”Anne Strainchamps asked him to describe the condition.Īnne Strainchamps: Synesthesia can take a lot of different forms. It used to be considered an extremely rare condition. They have what’s called synesthesia, a neurological condition which causes one sense to cross paths with another. Others actually feel the flavor of food on their fingers. Or see a color when they think of a certain number or letter. Jim Fleming: Now, it may seem odd to create music out of color, but some people really do see blue or yellow when they hear music.

Wednesday is indigo blue discovering the brain of synesthesia