Developing synaesthesia: a primer

Meier, Beat; Rothen, Nicolas

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00211

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…As ordinal types of synesthesia, such as graphemecolor synesthesia, are by far the most widely studied, contemporary research has consequently (if indirectly) delayed research into other types of synesthesia, such music-related types. Indeed, Meier and Rothen (2015) explicitly called for future studies to address "the development of other forms, for example, sound-colour synaesthesia" (2015,2). This article therefore adds to and extends recent research into music-related types of synesthesia (see, for example, Curwen, 2018Curwen, , 2022aCurwen, , 2022bGlasser, 2016Glasser, , 2018Glasser, , 2021Itoh & Nakada, 2018;Itoh et al, 2019;Itoh et al, 2017;Lima, 2019): an important development in the synesthesia research landscape.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meaning generated from these sections was portrayed through a combination of participants statements, descriptive statistics, and figures. Miles and Huberman (1994) compiled a list of ad hoc methods for qualitative data analysis which included techniques such as noting patterns and themes, clustering, counting, noting relations between variables, and finding intervening variables. Meaning was therefore generated through these interview transcripts by employing these techniques, with the results arranged from the descriptive to the explanatory, and from the concrete to the more conceptual and abstract (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Estimations on the prevalence of musiccolor synesthesia within the synesthete population vary considerably, ranging from 18.7% , 25% (Rich et al, 2005), to 41% (Niccolai et al, 2012). Regardless of the exact prevalence, music-related types of synesthesia remain under-researched in relation to other types of synesthesia, leading to calls for future studies to address their development, and move beyond a focus on the most commonly studied ordinal types of synesthesia, such as grapheme-color synesthesia (Hubbard, 2007;Meier & Rothen, 2015). Since these statements have been made, several researchers have taken up the challenge and are beginning to address this imbalance (see, for example, Curwen, 2018Curwen, , 2022aCurwen, , 2022bGlasser, 2016Glasser, , 2018Glasser, , 2021Itoh & Nakada, 2018;Itoh et al, 2017Itoh et al, , 2019Lima, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Relationship Between Music-Related Types of Synesthesia and Mental Imagery in Synesthete Musicians

Glasser

2023

Music & Science

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Synesthesia is a perceptual and conceptual phenomenon that has been linked to a heightened capacity for mental imagery. However, our understanding of music-related types of synesthesia and mental imagery is still in its infancy. This study therefore aims to examine the relationship between music-related types of synesthesia and mental imagery in a sample of synesthete musicians. Four forms of data collection were employed: an online survey, a synesthesia test battery, an absolute pitch test, and a semi-structured interview. This article focuses on results obtained in response to open-ended questions relating to synesthete musicians’ mental imagery. An analysis of the interview data revealed heightened vividness of auditory imagery (AI), including the ability to control the speed, dynamics, and intensity of the imagery. A bidirectional analysis of the functional relationship between AI and synesthesia ascertained that multimodal mental imagery (MMI) could be triggered by AI, thus bypassing the need for sensory stimulation. Furthermore, cases of complex visual imagery (CVI) were confirmed to meet the synesthetic criteria of being automatic and involuntary, as well as being consistent and stable mappings between specific musical stimuli and CVI. These findings are noteworthy as they call into question the general assumption that synesthetic percepts are generic and simple in nature. Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of music-related types of synesthesia and mental imagery, challenge contemporary understanding of certain categorical aspects of music-related synesthetic percepts, and provide us with a deeper understanding of the nature of cross-modal associations in general.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Relationship Between Music-Related Types of Synesthesia and Mental Imagery in Synesthete Musicians

Glasser

2023

Music & Science

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“…Yet ordinal forms of synaesthesia, such as graphemecolour synaesthesia, are by far the most widely studied (Hubbard, 2007), with contemporary research habitually neglecting other forms of synaesthesia. There is thus currently a paucity of literature that examines music or auditory-related forms of synaesthesia, leading Meier and Rothen (2015) to explicitly call for future studies to address "the development of other forms, for example, sound-colour synaesthesia" (p. 2). It is possible that this gap in current synaesthesia research might be explained by music's inherent complexity, as well as the perceived difficulty of recruiting participants with a high level of music language competence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceiving Music Through the Lens of Synaesthesia and Absolute Pitch

Glasser

2021

Perception

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Synaesthesia and absolute pitch (AP) are two rare conditions that occur more frequently within populations of artistic professionals. Current thinking surrounding synaesthesia and AP and their relationship to music perception form the focus of this article. Given that synaesthesia has rarely been discussed in the music literature, the article surveys and consolidates general neurobiological, psychological, and behavioural evidence to summarise what is currently known on this topic, in order to link this back to the conditions that most relate to music. In contrast, research on AP is now well established in the music literature, but the important gap of linking AP to other conditions such as synaesthesia has yet to be fully explored. This article investigates the potential relationship between synaesthesia and AP for musicians who possess both conditions by systematically comparing the definitions, classifications, prevalence, diagnoses, and impacts on music perception of synaesthesia and AP and provides insights into the varying states of the literature and knowledge of both conditions. In so doing, this article aims to facilitate a greater understanding of music and auditory forms of synaesthesia and their interaction with AP and encourage increased research effort on this important topic.

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Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition

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Developing synaesthesia: a primer

Cited by 4 publications

References 17 publications

The Relationship Between Music-Related Types of Synesthesia and Mental Imagery in Synesthete Musicians

The Relationship Between Music-Related Types of Synesthesia and Mental Imagery in Synesthete Musicians

Perceiving Music Through the Lens of Synaesthesia and Absolute Pitch

Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition

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