Synaesthesia

Synaesthesia is a neurological condition whereby individuals experience an involuntary blending of two or more senses, such that stimulation of one sensory modality induces perception of another. There are over 60 combinations of this sensory 'cross-wiring' reported for individuals diagnosed with synaesthesia and estimated incidence rates are as high as 5% across the population. Synaesthetic experiences activate brain areas normally associated with a given external stimulus, but also show activation of additional regions not normally implicated in that sense. The brain regions involved include, but are not limited to, the occipital and frontal lobes as well as the inferior and superior posterior parietal lobules. Synaesthesia research forms a rapidly growing field of cognitive-neuroscience, as it holds the potential to understand not only the condition itself, but also how the human brain processes different sensory information to produce independent perceptions. Significant progress in regards to our understanding of the neurological-perceptual correlates for various forms of synaesthesia has led to the creation of reliable methods of diagnosis, and serves as the underlying knowledge upon which which novel research is built. The facilitation of learning and memory in individuals with synaesthesia is just one of the many popular topics in synaesthesia research today.

a. Grapheme-Colour Synaesthesia b. Phoneme-Colour Synaesthesia c. Number Form Synaesthesia
 * 1. Brain Activation Patterns During Different Types of Synaesthesia (T.Yan)**

a. Possible Neural Models b. Genetic Basis c. Acquired Forms
 * 2. Mechanisms Underlying Synaesthesia (K. Chang)**

a. Settling the 'perception versus cognition' debate b. Criteria and tests used to diagnose synaesthetes c. Associator, projector or both? Distinguishing among synaesthetes using Stroop Effect-based tests d. The future of synaesthesia diagnosis: neuro-imaging and biomarkers
 * 3. Diagnosing Synaesthesia (A. Momen)**

a. Cross sensory experiences in the normal population that resembles synaesthesia b. Synaesthesia-like experiences in animals c. The influence and effect of synaesthesia in everyday life d. Early documented cases of synaesthesia
 * 4. Current Research and the History of Synaesthesia (C. Qiu)**


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