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Colored-speech synaesthesia is triggered by multisensory, not unisensory, perception
Gary Bargary1, Kylie J Barnett, Kevin J Mitchell
1School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Psychological Science
|May 30, 2009
Summary
Synaesthesia, or sensory cross-talk, arises from late-stage perceptual processing, not early sensory input. This study shows color-speech synaesthesia links to perceived speech, not just auditory signals.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Synaesthesia involves sensory cross-talk, affecting up to 4% of the population.
- The precise level of information processing triggering synaesthesia remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether synaesthesia is driven by early sensory processing or later perceptual stages.
- To determine if color-speech synaesthesia is linked to auditory input or the integrated percept.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the McGurk effect, a well-known multisensory illusion.
- Tested nine individuals with linguistic-color synaesthesia.
Main Results:
- Synaesthetic color perception was linked to the McGurk effect's illusory percept (audio-visual integration).
- Colors were not solely determined by the auditory component of speech.
- Findings suggest synaesthesia depends on advanced information processing.
Conclusions:
- Color-speech synaesthesia is triggered by late perceptual processing, not early unisensory activation.
- This research clarifies the neural processing stages involved in synaesthetic experiences.
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