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Synesthesia

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Synesthesia is a remarkable condition where stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with synesthesia experience a blending or crossing of their senses, such as sight and sound, leading to cross-modal sensations. In this condition, the stimulation of one sense, such as hearing a number or musical note, triggers an experience of another sense, like sensing a specific color, taste, or smell. People...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Training Synesthetic Letter-color Associations by Reading in Color

Training Synesthetic Letter-color Associations by Reading in Color

Published on: February 20, 2014

Colored-hearing synesthesia.

Kazue Takayanagi¹

¹Department of Health Services Administration, Nippon Medical School.

Japan-Hospitals : the Journal of the Japan Hospital Association

|February 7, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study explored synesthetic tendencies, linking specific musical tones to colors. Findings suggest using color psychology in healthcare settings, like ICUs and hospices, to influence patient moods and experiences.

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Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology
Musicology

Background:

Synesthesia involves experiencing one sense through another, like hearing colors.
Understanding synesthetic tendencies can inform environmental design in healthcare.
Previous research has explored color-music associations, but specific applications in clinical settings require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate synesthetic tendencies in response to different musical tones.
To explore potential differences in synesthetic perception based on age and gender.
To determine the applicability of synesthetic color associations in hospital environments, particularly Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and hospices.

Main Methods:

An experimental study was conducted with 104 subjects.
Participants were exposed to musical phrases, including angry and lamenting voices, and 'angelic tones'.
Subjects reported their color perceptions associated with each musical stimulus.

Main Results:

Angry and lamenting voices were associated with warm colors (red and yellow).
'Angelic tones' were perceived as cool colors.
Minor differences in synesthesia were observed between adolescent males and adults, though gender differences were not significant.

Conclusions:

Specific musical tones evoke distinct color perceptions, with emotional valence playing a key role (anger/lament = warm, angelic = cool).
These findings support the use of color-music synesthesia principles in designing therapeutic environments.
Careful color selection in ICUs and hospices, considering patient emotional states (panic vs. fighting), is recommended to optimize patient care and well-being.