Barbie
03-03-2005, 09:48 PM
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12428857-13762,00.html
Musician can 'taste music'
From correspondents in Paris
March 03, 2005
A SWISS musician sees colours when she hears music, and experiences tastes ranging from sour and bitter to low-fat cream and mown grass, astounded scientists say.
Zurich University neuropsychologists were so intrigued by the case of E.S. - a 27-year-old professional musician whose full name has been withheld - that they recruited her for a year-long inquiry.
They say she is the world's most extreme known case of synaesthesia, the phenomenon whereby hearing music triggers a response in other sensory organs.
E.S. sees colours when she hears a tone, with for instance an F sharp causing her to see violet while a C makes her see red, quite literally.
Even more remarkable is that she also gets a taste on her tongue according to the note she hears.
A tone interval of a minor second induces sourness, while a major second leaves a bitter taste.
A minor third is salty, while a major third is sweet.
Other tastes, according to the tone, are of "pure water," cream (either full or low-fat, depending on the note), "disgust" and also of mown grass.
To provide an objective test, the scientists applied one of four different-tasting solutions (sour, bitter, salty and sweet) to her tongue and then asked her to press a button on a computer keyboard corresponding to four relevant tones.
She responded with perfect accuracy and much faster than five musicians, recruited for the same test, who do not have her synaesthesic gifts.
E.S.' "extraordinary" synaesthesia has probably been a boon in her career by attuning her to the right pitch, the researchers say.
The study, led by Lutz Jaencke, appears in the British weekly science journal Nature.
I thought this was a load of crap. How can someone see that stuff unless they were doing some pretty good acid. So, I googled.
Definitions of synaesthesia on the Web:
a brain disorder characterized by a cross-referencing of senses: for example, sounds might be "seen" and colors might be "heard."
rinkworks.com/words/linguistics.shtml
stimulus in one sensory field leads to a hallucination in another sensory field
www.psychejam.com/glossary__of_terms.htm
One feeling or perception described with words usually used for a totally different or opposite feeling or perception. Ex: "The sky smelled blue." "The soft hum of fog."
faculty.valencia.cc.fl.us/drogers/poetry/ptrygl.html
Wow. Can this be true?
Synaesthesia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
Synaesthesia (also spelled synesthesia) is the neurological mixing of the senses. A synaesthete may, for example, hear colors, see sounds, and taste tactile sensations. Although this may happen in a person who has autism, it is by no means exclusive to autistics. Synaesthesia is a common effect of some hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD or mescaline.
Synaesthetes often experience correspondences between the shades of color, tone of sounds, and intensity of taste that provokes an alternate sensation. For instance, a synaesthete may see a more intense red as the pitch of a sound gets higher, or a smoother surface might make one taste a sweeter taste. These experiences are involuntary, are not metaphorical, are not merely associations, and are consistent throughout life, although some young synaesthetes seem to lose their ability by or during adulthood. Depressant drugs tend to increase the depth of the perception.
Synaesthesia can even occur when one of the senses no longer functions properly, e.g., a person who can see colours when words are spoken can still see the colours if he becomes blind in later life.
Two of the most common forms of synaesthesia are seeing sound or seeing letters and numbers in color.
Richard Cytowic wrote a pop-psych book about this condition entitled The Man Who Tasted Shapes.
Some researchers and theorists have suggested that synaesthesia may have played a part in early humans' development of writing and written literacies.
Alternate spellings exist (synaesthesis), and many of those who experience the phenomenon identify as "synaesthetes".
It’s very interesting subject. One that I will concider more research into for my own personal knowledge. And since it’s inherently inevitable, I will have to share this knowledge. I am a woman afterall.
Musician can 'taste music'
From correspondents in Paris
March 03, 2005
A SWISS musician sees colours when she hears music, and experiences tastes ranging from sour and bitter to low-fat cream and mown grass, astounded scientists say.
Zurich University neuropsychologists were so intrigued by the case of E.S. - a 27-year-old professional musician whose full name has been withheld - that they recruited her for a year-long inquiry.
They say she is the world's most extreme known case of synaesthesia, the phenomenon whereby hearing music triggers a response in other sensory organs.
E.S. sees colours when she hears a tone, with for instance an F sharp causing her to see violet while a C makes her see red, quite literally.
Even more remarkable is that she also gets a taste on her tongue according to the note she hears.
A tone interval of a minor second induces sourness, while a major second leaves a bitter taste.
A minor third is salty, while a major third is sweet.
Other tastes, according to the tone, are of "pure water," cream (either full or low-fat, depending on the note), "disgust" and also of mown grass.
To provide an objective test, the scientists applied one of four different-tasting solutions (sour, bitter, salty and sweet) to her tongue and then asked her to press a button on a computer keyboard corresponding to four relevant tones.
She responded with perfect accuracy and much faster than five musicians, recruited for the same test, who do not have her synaesthesic gifts.
E.S.' "extraordinary" synaesthesia has probably been a boon in her career by attuning her to the right pitch, the researchers say.
The study, led by Lutz Jaencke, appears in the British weekly science journal Nature.
I thought this was a load of crap. How can someone see that stuff unless they were doing some pretty good acid. So, I googled.
Definitions of synaesthesia on the Web:
a brain disorder characterized by a cross-referencing of senses: for example, sounds might be "seen" and colors might be "heard."
rinkworks.com/words/linguistics.shtml
stimulus in one sensory field leads to a hallucination in another sensory field
www.psychejam.com/glossary__of_terms.htm
One feeling or perception described with words usually used for a totally different or opposite feeling or perception. Ex: "The sky smelled blue." "The soft hum of fog."
faculty.valencia.cc.fl.us/drogers/poetry/ptrygl.html
Wow. Can this be true?
Synaesthesia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
Synaesthesia (also spelled synesthesia) is the neurological mixing of the senses. A synaesthete may, for example, hear colors, see sounds, and taste tactile sensations. Although this may happen in a person who has autism, it is by no means exclusive to autistics. Synaesthesia is a common effect of some hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD or mescaline.
Synaesthetes often experience correspondences between the shades of color, tone of sounds, and intensity of taste that provokes an alternate sensation. For instance, a synaesthete may see a more intense red as the pitch of a sound gets higher, or a smoother surface might make one taste a sweeter taste. These experiences are involuntary, are not metaphorical, are not merely associations, and are consistent throughout life, although some young synaesthetes seem to lose their ability by or during adulthood. Depressant drugs tend to increase the depth of the perception.
Synaesthesia can even occur when one of the senses no longer functions properly, e.g., a person who can see colours when words are spoken can still see the colours if he becomes blind in later life.
Two of the most common forms of synaesthesia are seeing sound or seeing letters and numbers in color.
Richard Cytowic wrote a pop-psych book about this condition entitled The Man Who Tasted Shapes.
Some researchers and theorists have suggested that synaesthesia may have played a part in early humans' development of writing and written literacies.
Alternate spellings exist (synaesthesis), and many of those who experience the phenomenon identify as "synaesthetes".
It’s very interesting subject. One that I will concider more research into for my own personal knowledge. And since it’s inherently inevitable, I will have to share this knowledge. I am a woman afterall.