THE synesthesia it is a neurological condition of the brain that interprets the signals perceived by our sensory system in different ways. It is a neurological confusion that causes the perception of several senses at once. This condition is not considered a mental illness, but a different way the brain interprets signals. One in two thousand people have synesthesia, and these people can see sounds, feel colors or taste shapes.
Synesthesia is an involuntary process in the brain, and its cause is still unknown. It is only believed that it has a hereditary cause, it is more common in women and in left-handed people. “Synesthesia is common in some families, and is related to at least three chromosomes,” says British psychologist Julia Simner, from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
In 1690, John Locke first described synesthesia, reporting the case of a blind man who perceived what the color red was by the sound of a horn. In medicine, the first recorded case of synesthesia was in 1922 with a four-year-old child.
Synesthetic associations can stimulate memory, which is why many artists, musicians, writers, among others, mention synesthesia as an important component in their work. In the nineteenth century, an artist could pass for a synesthetic to get closer to the unusual, the eccentric and even human perfection. The Russian plastic artist Kandinsky was fascinated by synesthetics, and used the synesthesia between music and painting to inspire his works.
Research on this subject began a few years ago, so there is no test that adequately proves whether or not the person is kinesthetic. The most widely used test today was developed by Professor of Developmental Psychopathology Simon Baron-Cohen, University of Cambridge. The test, called the Genuity Test (TG), measures the stability of the relationship between stimuli and responses over time. A sequence of stimuli (colors, sounds, odors, words) is presented to the probable kinesthetic, and then their sensory responses are recorded. Another test is done based on visual research. In a frame with black and white letters, other letters seen by the synesthetic as colored are “hidden”.
Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/oscincosentidos/sinestesia.htm