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Synaesthesia is associated with enhanced, self-rated visual imagery.
Kylie J Barnett1, Fiona N Newell
1School of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
Consciousness and Cognition
|July 14, 2007
Summary
Synaesthesia, a condition with diverse individual experiences, is linked to more vivid visual mental imagery. This suggests visual imagery plays a key role in synaesthesia and must be considered in future research.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Synaesthesia research is increasing but often focuses on individual differences.
- A deeper understanding requires investigating general characteristics of synaesthesia.
- Synaesthetic experiences resemble internal visual mental imagery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of visual imagery in synaesthesia.
- To determine if synaesthetes experience more vivid mental images than non-synaesthetes.
Main Methods:
- A large group of individuals with synaesthesia and a control group were sampled.
- Participants' self-reported vividness of mental imagery was assessed.
Main Results:
- Individuals with synaesthesia reported significantly more vivid mental images compared to controls.
- This finding highlights a common characteristic across synaesthetes.
Conclusions:
- Visual imagery is a significant factor in the experience of synaesthesia.
- Future behavioural and neuroimaging studies on synaesthesia must control for visual imagery vividness.
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