International Congress on Synaesthesia Art and Science V.
Abstract:
Our research explores theories based upon past behavioural studies and FMRI
scans with Synaesthetes and general listeners. FMRI experiments have revealed that the
cross-modal associations to sounds in Synaesthetes are less pronounced, yet still present
in the general population. The results of our psycho-musicology study with 40
Synaesthetes and 40 non-Synaesthetes reveal a quasi-Synaesthetic [Nikolic, 2014]
spectrum extending to general listeners, similar to culturally founded Synaesthesia
[Kohler]. These findings engage theories regarding recruitment of brain pathways for
specific sound stimuli, and draw attention to features in sound, which trigger specific
strong associations in non-Synaesthetic individuals.