Joining of the senses (Image: stock.xchng)

Gallery: A window into the synaesthetic mind

THE word “synaesthesia” derives from the phrase “joining of the senses”, but the phenomenon might not be the uncontrollable perceptual mishmash that this implies. Instead, the condition may be the result of a special ability in the “higher” brain areas used for language and attention.

Earlier experiments found that people with colour-grapheme synaesthesia, who link numbers and letters with certain colours, are incredibly speedy at a certain task. That is identifying hidden shapes formed out of one number or letter that are embedded in a sea of …