If you automatically associate colors with sounds, numbers or letters, you are most likely a synesthete.
If the fact of associating sounds with colors has already been known since Antiquity, it was not until the 19th century that researchers looked into this unprecedented ability of certain individuals.
The neurobiological explanation
Long considered as belonging to the occult sciences or to the belief of some, the fact of associating letters, numbers, sounds, but also emotions with colors now has a neurobiological explanation.
Indeed, some are able to associate neural circuits related to the processing of visual and acoustic information and those related to learning, memory and emotions. Just as the high-pitched sound will make us think of a small animal for example, for synesthetes it is colors that emerge.
Being a synesthete on a daily basis
If the synesthete lives in a sensory perception made up of various colors, the particularity of his brain does not stop there. In everyday life, especially professionally, he may tend to visualize 3D constructions that represent music or even emotions.
Those around you can therefore have difficulty understanding this representation of reality, which can nevertheless be an asset in certain professional fields.
Find out more: “Synesthesias: A history of their discovery and the first scientific studies during the 19th century” by Serge Nicolas.
