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Itoh K. Induced awareness of synesthetic sensations in synesthetically predisposed "Borderline Non-synesthetes". Conscious Cogn 2024; 118:103650. [PMID: 38280253 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
A long-standing issue concerning synesthesia is whether the trait is continuous or discontinuous with ordinary perception. Here, we found that a substantial proportion of non-synesthetes (>10 % out of >200 unselected participants) spontaneously became aware of their synesthesia by participating in an online survey that forced them to select colors for stimuli that evoke color sensations in synesthetes. Notably, the test-retest consistencies of color sensation in these non-synesthetes were comparable to those in self-claimed synesthetes, revealing their strong though latent synesthetic dispositions. The effect was absent or weak in a matched control survey that did not include the color-picking test. Therefore, the color-picking task likely provided the predisposed "borderline non-synesthetes" with an opportunity to dwell on their tendency toward synesthesia and allowed their subconscious sensations to become conscious ones. The finding suggests that the general population has a continuum of synesthetic disposition that encompasses both synesthetes and non-synesthetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kosuke Itoh
- Center for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori, Chuoku, Niigata, Japan.
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Lacey S, Martinez M, Steiner N, Nygaard LC, Sathian K. Consistency and strength of grapheme-color associations are separable aspects of synesthetic experience. Conscious Cogn 2021; 91:103137. [PMID: 33933880 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2021.103137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Consistency of synesthetic associations over time is a widely used test of synesthesia. Since many studies suggest that consistency is not a completely reliable feature, we compared the consistency and strength of synesthetes' grapheme-color associations. Consistency was measured by scores on the Synesthesia Battery and by the Euclidean distance in color space for the specific graphemes tested for each participant. Strength was measured by congruency magnitudes on the Implicit Association Test. The strength of associations was substantially greater for synesthetes than non-synesthetes, suggesting that this is a novel, objective marker of synesthesia. Although, intuitively, strong associations should also be consistent, consistency and strength were uncorrelated, indicating that they are likely independent, at least for grapheme-color synesthesia. These findings have implications for our understanding of synesthesia and for estimates of its prevalence since synesthetes who experience strong, but inconsistent, associations may not be identified by tests that focus solely on consistency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Lacey
- Department of Neurology, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0859, USA; Department of Neural & Behavioral Sciences, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0859, USA; Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | | | - Nicole Steiner
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Lynne C Nygaard
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - K Sathian
- Department of Neurology, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0859, USA; Department of Neural & Behavioral Sciences, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0859, USA; Department of Psychology, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033-0859, USA; Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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