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Grapheme-color synesthesia interferes with color perception in a standard Stroop task
F M van der Veen1, H P Aben2, M Smits3
1Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC, P.O. Box 2040, 3000CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Neuroscience
|November 26, 2013
Summary
Grapheme-color synesthetes exhibit automatic and involuntary experiences, as evidenced by distinct behavioral and brain responses in Stroop tasks. This study provides strong evidence for the automatic nature of synesthesia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Synesthesia, a condition where sensory pathways cross, is often described as automatic and involuntary.
- Understanding the automaticity of synesthetic experiences is crucial for cognitive models of perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the automatic and involuntary nature of synesthetic experiences in grapheme-color synesthetes.
- To compare behavioral and neural (BOLD) responses between synesthetic and standard Stroop tasks.
Main Methods:
- Utilized both behavioral (reaction times) and neuroimaging (blood-oxygen level dependent - BOLD) measures.
- Administered a synesthetic version and a standard version of the Stroop task to grapheme-color synesthetes and control participants.
- Focused analysis on the rostral cingulate zone (RCZ) for BOLD responses.
Main Results:
- Synesthetes showed significant interference effects (slower reaction times, increased RCZ BOLD activity) in the synesthetic Stroop task.
- Surprisingly, synesthetes exhibited less interference than controls in the standard Stroop task.
- Increased RCZ BOLD responses in synesthetes during the neutral condition of the standard Stroop task suggest experienced interference.
Conclusions:
- The findings provide strong evidence for the automatic and involuntary nature of synesthetic experiences.
- Performance differences in standard Stroop tasks highlight the unique cognitive processing in synesthetes.
- This research offers novel insights into the neural mechanisms underlying synesthesia.
Keywords:
CONDLPFCEPIFFGGLMICNEURCZROIRTStroopTETOGTRTest of Genuinenessanterior cingulate cortexcongruentdorsolateral prefrontal cortexecho timeecho-planar imagingfMRIfunctional Magnetic Resonance Imagingfusiform gyrusgeneral linear modelgrapheme-color synesthesiaincongruentinterferenceneutralreaction timeregion of interestrepetition timerostral cingulate zone
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