Synesthetes: People Who See Music and Taste Words
Carolyn Hart doesn't watch many action movies. When she does, she sometimes feels the same pain the characters do.
She's not just getting really involved in the story — her body is actually stimulated by what's happening on screen, and her muscles tense involuntarily.
Hart is one of about 4% of people with a neurological condition called synesthesia — pronounced "sin-es-THEE-zha." Synesthetes, as they're called, experience things through their senses in unusual ways.
It's not a disease, and it's not harmful. But for those who have it, it's impossible to ignore.
And it's not just about tensing muscles — there are many different types of synesthesia. Synesthetes might see colors when music plays, or taste flavors when they hear certain words.
It has good and bad sides, Hart told The Psychologist back in 2015. She's a massage therapist, and it can help her at work. "When I touch people, I tend to feel it in my own body where I'm working on them," she said. "It's very pleasant; it's almost like I'm massaging myself."
Experts think synesthesia is probably genetic, and it has actually been known about for more than 200 years.
But it's only in the last 20 years or so that researchers have really begun to explore the condition in detail.
They now know some synesthetes have excellent memories: associating letters or sounds with colors helps them remember long pieces of text, or lets them easily play pieces of music from memory, because they "see" the notes in their mind as they play.
It may also help people be more creative — Vincent van Gogh was thought to have been a synesthete.
And some researchers believe it might be possible to "teach" some parts of synesthesia. Tests have found that non-synesthetes can be trained to associate colors with letters, for example.
It's a curious condition — but perhaps one that could open up benefits for us all.
