What is Synesthesia?
4,971 views · Published 8 May 2018 · 4:28 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: Dr. Todd Grande · 2018 · Education
This video describes synesthesia. Synesthesia is a condition, not a mental health disorder, in which the activation of one sense triggers the activation of another. A lot of times we think of this as just two senses being involved, but more than two senses can be involved, and also another version of the same sense can be involved this condition. Synesthesia is considered irrepressible and involuntary, so it's a response to stimuli that a person cannot turn off. There are many subtypes of synesthesia, but the most common would be where letters produce colors. The letter “B,” for example, could be viewed as orange. This is an example of one sense being activated in two different ways. The next most common type is where sounds are seen as colors, shapes, or textures. There are a number of possible combinations with this condition, more so than just the two common types. Any two senses or more than two senses, could activate at the same time or one activating in response to the other. There are a number of interesting facts and myths about synesthesia. We know that the associations that individuals make when they have this condition are amazingly consistent. We know that synesthesia tends to form early in life. It's not always one sense triggering another, rather there may be a bi-directional component for some individuals who have this condition. Synesthesia affects about 4% of the population it may have a genetic etiology. Another myth is that individuals with synesthesia have some sort of advantage, specifically, a memory advantage or an intellectual advantage. The evidence does not support this. There doesn't appear to be any differences in terms of intelligence or memory between people with this condition and those without it.