The beginning of research on synaesthesia in children: Searching for traces in the 19th and early 20th century (original) (raw)
Related papers
Theoria et Historia Scientiarum, 2014
In the context of synaesthesia research, the discussion about the Nussbaumer brothers today is totally forgotten. Two articles were published by one of these brothers in 1873 with self-observations about their synaesthesia and a 19-section questionnaire -the first questionnaire in the history of this phenomenon. What was new about their synaesthesia? How was it received? In which interdisciplinary contexts was synaesthesia placed? Which new theories were developed via the Nussbaumer discussion? We answer these questions and also resolve for the first time the true identity of F. A. Nussbaumer.
Is there a normal phase of synaesthesia in development
1996
Synaesthesia (one sense triggering another) has recently become amenable to scientific investigation. Recent findings are reviewed. Maurer's developmental theory of synaesthesia is then discussed. The theory states that all human neonates have synaesthesia, but that by about 4 months of age the senses have become modularized to the extent that we no longer have synaesthesia. Possible ways of testing this important theory are described, and the distinction between this account and cross-modal matching (Meltzoff) is clarified.
The primary purpose of our current study is to develop a novel self-administered or/and interviewer-assisted instrument rating an individual degree of phenotypic expressivity of synaesthesia. A measurement index of such a degree is conceptualised as Synaesthesia Quotient (SynQ). This article will detail the initial stage of the scale development; i.e., conceptualisation, domains identification, item generation, and identification of rating values of the proposed scale. Ten preliminary domains are determined and related items are generated on the basis of empirical data from synaesthesia literature review, extant measures, and external neuroscientific results. Further work is underway to perform judgment-based item expansion (or reduction) informed by expert opinion and to assess the validity and reliability of the Synaesthesia Quotient inventory (SynQ-i). This paper is also intended to solicit postpublication feedback and generate specialist discussion.
psych.ubc.ca
The developmental origins of synaesthesia have only recently become the focus of serious scientific research. Most existing theories posit a simple genetic mutation as the primary causal factor in synaesthetic development, but it is widely recognized that a complete theory will have to involve learning in some manner. Our paper presents the developmental learning hypothesis (DLH) of synaesthesia, which, as the name suggests, treats learning as a central component of the development of synaesthesia. According to the DLH, synaesthesia arises, at least in part, as a strategic response to specific learning challenges faced in childhood. The paper focusses on grapheme-colour synaesthesia, in which individuals associate specific colours with letters and numerals. We describe a number of the problems faced by children becoming literate, ranging from learning to identify individual letters to learning to keep phonemes in the correct order when reading, and illustrate ways in which grapheme-colour synaesthesia might be helpful in solving these problems.
What can synaesthesia tell us about our minds
Theoria et Historia Scientiarum, 2013, 10, 55-82
Synaesthesia is considered here as a cognitive phenomenon in the context of developmental, neuropathological and linguistic perspectives. Developmental synaesthesia seems to arise as an effect of interplay between genotype and phenotype, during the implicit learning process in childhood, in those individuals who possess an inborn susceptibility to it. Some connections between synaesthesia and extraordinary experiences, brain restructuration and pain, are examined. Acquired types of synaesthesia may be related to sensory deprivation. The somatosensory cortex may be significant for cognitive synaesthesia, with especial importance placed on a mirror system. It is suggested here that synaesthesia might play a compensatory role during the sensorimotor stage of development. Linguistic-colour synaesthesia seems to be an abstract type of association that may characterize people with a hypersensitive colour perceptual system. In the present view synaesthesia may be seen as an effect of some deficiency that concerns double integrative processes.
Synaesthesia: The existing state of affairs
Cognitive Neuropsychology, 2008
In synaesthesia one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, such as when hearing a sound produces photisms-that is, mental percepts of colours. In the past, the idiosyncrasy of this phenomenon, as well as the natural mistrust of scientists towards the subjective, consigned synaesthesia to the periphery of scientific interest. However, the landscape has changed radically in the last two decades. The labour of many researchers, inside as well as outside of cognitive neuroscience, has transformed synaesthesia into a scientific reality whose existence can be demonstrated and studied empirically. The present paper summarizes and reflects on our current knowledge concerning synaesthesia in all its aspects (cognition, behaviour, neurology, genetics, and demographics).
The prevalence of synaesthesia depends on early language learning
According to one theory, synaesthesia develops, or is preserved, because it helps children learn. If so, it should be more common among adults who faced greater childhood learning challenges. In the largest survey of synaesthesia to date, the incidence of synaesthesia was compared among native speakers of languages with transparent (easier) and opaque (more difficult) orthographies. Contrary to our prediction, native speakers of Czech (transparent) were more likely to be synaesthetes than native speakers of English (opaque). However, exploratory analyses suggested that this was because more Czechs learned non-native second languages, which was strongly associated with synaesthesia, consistent with the learning hypothesis. Furthermore, the incidence of synaesthesia among speakers of opaque languages was double that among speakers of transparent languages other than Czech, also consistent with the learning hypothesis. These findings contribute to an emerging understanding of synaesthetic development as a complex and lengthy process with multiple causal influences.