Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Training Synesthetic Letter-color Associations by Reading in Color
Published on: February 20, 2014
Synesthesia and music perception
Guilherme Francisco F Bragança1, João Gabriel Marques Fonseca2, Paulo Caramelli3
1PhD Student, Neuroscience Program, The Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Abstract:
The present review examined the cross-modal association of sensations and their relationship to musical perception. Initially, the study focuses on synesthesia, its definition, incidence, forms, and genetic and developmental factors. The theories of the neural basis of synesthesia were also addressed by comparing theories emphasizing the anatomical aspect against others reinforcing the importance of physiological processes. Secondly, cross-modal sensory associations, their role in perception, and relationship to synesthesia were analyzed. We propose the existence of a lower, unconscious degree of synesthesia in non-synesthetes. This latent synesthesia (without explicit sensory manifestations) would be functional, aiding the construction of abstract associations between different perceptual fields. Musical meaning might be constructed largely by synesthetic processes, where the sensory associations from sound activate memories, images, and emotions.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Synesthesia
Auditory Perception
Factors Affecting Perception
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
Perception of Sound Waves
The pitch of a sound depends on the frequency and the pressure amplitude of the source. Two sounds of the same...
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by...
Beats

