Synesthesia

[CβL]

Synesthesia. I'm sure it's mostly pretty well known what it is. But basically, your sensory perception merges together. Hearing colours, seeing sounds, tasting emotions, etc.

Is anyone here a synesthete - if so, how does it feel? Has anyone artificially achieved synesthesia - and if you did, how would you suggest a hypothetical person go about trying to achieve it as well (mindset, 'tools', etc)?

[gogogadget]

some cool links i found,

Artificial synesthesia

Artificial Synesthesia for Synthetic Vision

attached pdf is - Artificial Synesthesia via Sonification

ICAD-Visor.pdf

ICAD-Visor.pdf

ICAD-Visor.pdf

Edited June 1, 2011 by gogogadget

[CβL]

Thanks man.

I'll look into those.

[mutant]

I have felt it. Seeing sounds it was, seeing the waveform of a person speaking. I was already familiar with the picture of a waveform. This happened completely random, and I hadn't realised for long that this was an occasion of synesthesia. The person talking was on some sedative pills, some guy I know, in a club and his words were full of blurring and holes. I saw / was seeing the holes in the waveform, as I was listening to him mumbling. I remember I felt like a 'god' or the ultimate spiritual human being, talking to this poor sedated fella in this lousy state and feeling his vibe.

The 'tool' used back then was half a blotter of some awesome batch.

Edited June 1, 2011 by mutant

[niggles]

I dont think it is actually synesthesia, but I taste when I yawn.

Its really quite nice. Every yawn a different flavour.

Past favorites were apple strudel, walnuts, bannana paddle pop.

Not so good was dirt, coffee grinds, bongwater.

It usually comes on about halfway through the yawn and fades a few seconds after i finish and make the num num tasting sounds by moving my tongue against the roof of my mouth to fully experience the flavour sensation.

Also, I used to have a housemate who is epileptic. One day against advice, he decided to take acid, go to a drum and bass club night and drink lots of booze.

He had a big seizure just as he was about to pick up a really hot girl, and ended up in hospital tripping balls.

They ran the tests and let him go and he had another one walking out the door and hit his face real good on the ground.

Came home the next morning with two black eyes, ecg pads on his chest, and newly developed synesthesia.

He now tastes sound. His new joke was 'I definitely have the best taste in music.'

His neurologist wasnt too concerned about his new quirk, and he was rather pleased, going through his music collection from scratch to see what they tasted like, but there was a downside as he found that some of his favourite sounds were quite distasteful.

Edited June 1, 2011 by niggles

[CβL]

Awesome, that's exactly the type of thing. It's interesting because you say you are quite familiar with the shape of a waveform. What exactly did you see?

Was it the time-domain representation of the voice? Or was it frequency domain?

I'm quite interested in the frequency domain representation, as well as other non-linear representations of sound. I wonder if anyone has had phosphenes generating with a size and shape proportional to frequency and timbre, or some such. Is it controllable? Hmmmm... I know what I would need to test this sort of thing lol.

[CβL]

That's extremely interesting niggles. Have you ever tasted anything that you couldn't recognize, or felt was a new flavour? Or do you think it was always something that you have tried before and were 'remembering on your tongue'?

Your old housemate's story is also very intriguing. Unluckily for me, I don't have epilepsy and so I don't think I could re-enact that sequence of events.

Also interesting is how a certain ergoline alkaloid is showing up in these stories. If anyone knows of any other alkaloids that can result in synesthesia, please share.

The closest I have probably come is being able to imagine sounds, and basically to hear those imagined sounds. Mostly it's droning type sounds, which I can syncopate. I can also take existing sounds and shift the pitch somewhat. I can also onomatopoetically turn some sounds into words.

[paradox]

I'm quite interested in the frequency domain representation, as well as other non-linear representations of sound. I wonder if anyone has had phosphenes generating with a size and shape proportional to frequency and timbre, or some such. Is it controllable? Hmmmm... I know what I would need to test this sort of thing lol.

 

have you seen this program? is designed as an editing tool for noise reduction etc, but can be a pretty amazing sampling tool aswell

amplitude is expressed in relative brightness & the frequency range is on the vertical plane

synesthesia is interesting.. has anyone read oliver sacks Musicophilia?

[Francois le Danque]

interesting is how a certain ergoline alkaloid is showing up in these stories. If anyone knows of any other alkaloids that can result in synesthesia, please share.

 

Afraid i can only substantiate this already existing claim, rather than add a new one, beta-luntmuffin. personally i saw the words coming out of my mouth in big bubble letters. i could also feel them. it was sort of like vomiting into the air, except not unpleasant. i also kept seeing the word VISION spelled out in front of me, and could feel that. I decided that vision and touch were actually the same sense, or at least very linked. now i realise this was the acid talking...they are only linked if you are holding what you are looking at. for me at least.

i also have a friend who is naturally synaesthetic. she sees auras around people. like most with this condition, she thought it was normal until she talked to someone about it once. what i always wonder is, if it's normal, how come people don't (usually) draw them when they draw a picture of someone? or in cartoons. maybe the synaesthetic person sees them there anyway. in any case i asked what colour my aura was and was disappointed to learn that it is brown. but since i wear a lot of brown clothes, have brown eyes and brown hair, i'm not so sure that these auras are reflections of personality...

i should also add that this friend has never used alkaloids and scarcely even drinks ethanolic beverages.

[PsillyBean]

Only once have i seen sound. After a hefty dose of disco biscuits and Gin i could see the sounds i was making from my guitar as if down to the smallest sample i could imagine. Almost like a time distortion of the soundwave mixed with synesthesia. Very special baked moment :D

[Francois le Danque]

uhh....i think we have a differing perception on what disco biscuits are. did they make one baked? i thought they made one dance the night away...

[Distracted]

I've certainly had this happen 'artificially' on a number of occasions. A combination of LSD and sustained NOS will definately bring it about. It's something that happens when you drop out of focus and it's only when you realise what it is and try and focus on it that it will disapear. I remember having a startling revelation whilst having a particularly strong bout of synesthesia where I saw beat of a particular song being played out infront of me, inbetween objects... so inside a space inside the third dimension. Upon seeing this I instantly knew the behaviour of light and that it definately behaved as both a wave and packets but there was one little bit of information missing which I knew but I forgot it when I became so amazed that I figured it out. Easy come easy go.

I can describe what the beat looked like to me though. Simple trance song, 4x4 beat and the filled in bits were the tryptamine rainbow.

||| ||| ||| ||\ ||| ||| ||| |||\|||||||||||| ||| ||| ||| ||\ |||

If you get what I mean? It was in binary, either on or off depending on the bass.

Only a few weeks ago a... friend took some acid and halfway through the night managed to poke himself on some cactus spines. What he noticed though was everytime he was poked by the spines he tasted something in his mouth. I can't remember the specific taste but it was definately something that seemingly came from nowhere.

I mean really though... i'm sure you've noticed synesthesia during CEV? Close your eyes and play music and your visions will dance to the beat. Shut the music and they'll dance to your own thoughts. Go deep enough and when you open your eyes it'll still be there reacting to sounds but you can see it upon dark surfaces.

Just a list of umm... actives i've known to produce synesthesia. DOI, LSD, mushrooms, DMT.

A quote from a friend of mine at a party once... "How did 'distracted' get the lights to go in perfect timing with the music?" :D magic.

[Rabaelthazar]

I always get synesthesia when I take tryptamines.

Mushroom trips, in particular, always consist of hallucinations where sound, touch and vision are one and the same. Not quite sure how to describe it, but my visuals are perceived aurally and as sensations in my brain and body all at the same time.

I've sort of assumed that this is how most people experience tryptamines but perhaps not? Anyone else?

[mutant]

bluntmuffin,

what I saw and felt was amplitude-vertical and time-horizontal - so it was a normal view of wave editing. As he was talking to me I saw the waveform play and noticed the gaps/voids in his voice were in accordance with the waveform I 'felt'. The wave was green as in cooledit pro / adobe audition.

I guess it might be a matter of talent [like with lucid dreaming] or 'predisposition'. Despite I am not the vision/colours/fancy shit guy, I saw what I know a lot about, sounds. It was totally spontaneous for me too. I was most definately long after the peak, but had and extremely nice mood and was social in the club.

People who get more visuals or trip for the visuals and other impressive effects, people who dose high, people determined to take it all the way, I guess they might be more prone to experience synesthesia some time.

[Francois le Danque]

I mean really though... i'm sure you've noticed synesthesia during CEV? Close your eyes and play music and your visions will dance to the beat. Shut the music and they'll dance to your own thoughts. Go deep enough and when you open your eyes it'll still be there reacting to sounds but you can see it upon dark surfaces.

 

hey yeah you just reminded me! when i have my eyes shut waiting to sleep, whenever there is a sudden sound, like a door shutting nearby, or even my bedroom door knocking a bit in the wind, i see a white flash, like a camera. i don't really think about it unless it's happening, but i guess this is real synaesthesia.

A quote from a friend of mine at a party once... "How did 'distracted' get the lights to go in perfect timing with the music?" :D magic.

pfft LOL

[Francois le Danque]

I've sort of assumed that this is how most people experience tryptamines but perhaps not? Anyone else?

 

nope, it was just that one time. then again i'm not too experienced in this area, but my few experiences with the fungal friends have not lead to similar situations as that i described above.

[Distracted]

hey yeah you just reminded me! when i have my eyes shut waiting to sleep, whenever there is a sudden sound, like a door shutting nearby, or even my bedroom door knocking a bit in the wind, i see a white flash, like a camera. i don't really think about it unless it's happening, but i guess this is real synaesthesia

 

Wow that's pretty cool. I have never had that or maybe never noticed it. I know my dreams are affected by what I hear though, is that classed as synaesthesia?

A bit over a year ago I underestimated the noise my pressure cooker would make and started a cook around 2am. An hour later my housemate woke up from his dream saying the noise from the PC made him dream of trains and it took him awhile to realise the sound wasn't coming from his dream. He wasn't too happy about being woken up, I haven't done any late night cooks since.

[mutant]

hey yeah you just reminded me! when i have my eyes shut waiting to sleep, whenever there is a sudden sound, like a door shutting nearby, or even my bedroom door knocking a bit in the wind, i see a white flash, like a camera. i don't really think about it unless it's happening, but i guess this is real synaesthesia.

hey frank, this is mostly likely linked with sleep and pre-sleep phenomena.

I have this or something like this happening sometimes at the first stages, perhaps first seconds of sleep. Some object is falling almost on you, a tennis ball is coming fast at you and you should hit it [yeah you got a tennis racket!] etc - it most surely is a feeling that triggers a response from the sleeping guy, usually waking him up, sometimes the awakening cause is the persons real life motion in response to the 'vision' , f.e. to hit the ball or to avoid the falling object. Sometimes these might be caused by real life sounds, but not always I think.

[niggles]

That's extremely interesting niggles. Have you ever tasted anything that you couldn't recognize, or felt was a new flavour? Or do you think it was always something that you have tried before and were 'remembering on yight tour tongue'?

 

Yeah there have certainly been tastes I cant recognise, some tastes that I would relate to dreaming and some that I relate to psychedlic feelings, and some that I cant even place on that level.

However all of the tastes do have a certain familiarality to them, like those taste buds or nerves or neurons have been stimulated before.

There was one psychedelic times where, to my best interperatation I was hearing my brainwaves. It was rather confusing and distracting, and as I tried to get a grasp of the situation, tried to figure out what was going on, the frequency and pitch rose seemingly in unison with my thoughts. Too much noise to think so I had to meditate to get it back to a deep pulsing hum tolerable noise.

I can also vividly remember watching a twitch working its way down my muscle from my shoulder to my finger, upon arrival making my finger spasm closed to the palm of my hand from where it would not move without assistance, then, back to normal.

Edited June 1, 2011 by niggles

[mutant]

there was one time, my friend says, where he first ate some funky cactus, where the taste [particularly of tomato]. at ~4:00 was simply too intense to be just a taste. It was psychoactive. it was a party around the pot with the tomato salad.

but this aint synesth. right? or maybe it was: I became taste for some 1+ hour, while chatting and eating tomato and dipping bread in the juice once in the while.

[quarterflesh]

once a pone a time my cat was eating lsd an told me he could taste the colors coming from the tv. then again my cat is pretty crazy

[niggles]

hey yeah you just reminded me! when i have my eyes shut waiting to sleep, whenever there is a sudden sound, like a door shutting nearby, or even my bedroom door knocking a bit in the wind, i see a white flash, like a camera. i don't really think about it unless it's happening, but i guess this is real synaesthesia.

 

I have a slightly similar sleep phenomena where just as I am falling to sleep I get this electric shock type jolt that brings me back to awake. This isnt usually associated with any noise or disturbance that I can recall.

There are occasional times where it isnt just one jolt, and I am bombarded by these incredibly intense electric type impulse through my brain, I usually wonder if I am having some kind of aneurism or a spiritual awakening. So I stay still in bed and observe, it feels like my brain is making some kind of unknown movement that feels like flexing muscles inside my brain to open or push something through the crown of my head.

As it pushes I get the previously described sensation and as it starts to feel like it is opening - the intensity becomes overwhelming to the point where thought is pretty much impossible, and then it feels like my brain relaxes so I can catch up, and then it starts again.

After a while I even get the sensation of muscle fatigue in my brain from the pushing.

I used to get blackouts a lot when I stood up, now I get amazing multidimensional fractal displays.

My housemate thinks I need a brainscan...

Thoughts? Comments?

[Francois le Danque]

hey frank, this is mostly likely linked with sleep and pre-sleep phenomena.

I have this or something like this happening sometimes at the first stages, perhaps first seconds of sleep. Some object is falling almost on you, a tennis ball is coming fast at you and you should hit it [yeah you got a tennis racket!] etc - it most surely is a feeling that triggers a response from the sleeping guy, usually waking him up, sometimes the awakening cause is the persons real life motion in response to the 'vision' , f.e. to hit the ball or to avoid the falling object. Sometimes these might be caused by real life sounds, but not always I think.

 

no mutant i think this is a completely separate phenomenon. you are talking about hypnic jerks, also known as myoclonial spasms. these are when the leg muscles (and possibly other muscles) go tight for just a second or less. they do this as they go limp to get ready for sleep. when this occurs, people often dream of an event that triggers a slight panic, like as you said a tennis ball coming your way. though a more common one is tripping over whilst walking, then feeling yourself jerk to try and break your fall. people who can't stop doing this when they try to sleep are said to be suffering restless leg syndrome. it also occurs during opiate withdrawal.

though it might seem that the dream causes the jerk, it's actually the other way around. the jerk happens naturally when you fall asleep, as i said, and then your mind quickly invents a reason this must have happened.

this is similar to the falling sensation in dreams. when it is time to wake up, the brain releases stress hormones (eg cortisol) to wake the body. when you feel the stress chemicals start working, your mind invents an excuse to be feeling stressed, such as the adrenaline rush of falling.

and, to bring this back to relevance, i should add that my visual flashes in response to external noises happen when i am quite awake, not asleep as when spasms occur. there is also no muscular movement involved. so i believe it to be distinct.

I used to get blackouts a lot when I stood up, now I get amazing multidimensional fractal displays.

My housemate thinks I need a brainscan...

Thoughts? Comments?

 

lol i think it's just about association. i used to just get dizzy when i stood up too fast but now i get nitrous style visual disturbances. some would consider this a flashback. but i think it's just about your brain associating stimuli: i have associated feeling dizzy with visuals. i think it's something similar with you. of course a good brain scan never hurts !

edit: oh yeah and most people get dizzy or pass out if they stand up too fast...that's just low blood pressure. so don't worry about that. unless it starts happening when sitting down..

this has been another WallOfText production, brought to you by frank.

Edited June 2, 2011 by frank

[mescalito]

As far as I can gather it's to do with the communication between the Hemispheres of the brain, it can be achieved with binaural beats as well if the resonances in each ear are correct.

Alex Putney talks about it in the first hour of this Red Ice Creations interview Here ....wow synchronicity too!

[niggles]

lol i think it's just about association. i used to just get dizzy when i stood up too fast but now i get nitrous style visual disturbances. some would consider this a flashback. but i think it's just about your brain associating stimuli: i have associated feeling dizzy with visuals. i think it's something similar with you. of course a good brain scan never hurts !

edit: oh yeah and most people get dizzy or pass out if they stand up too fast...that's just low blood pressure. so don't worry about that. unless it starts happening when sitting down..

this has been another WallOfText production, brought to you by frank.

 

Yeah not particularly concerned about the dizzy spellls, although its nearly getting to the point of OOBE's sometimes. I find it highly ... umm.. interesting to experience.

However it does happen sometimes from lying down to sitting up.

Also, previous to this occurring, (and still) I get hallucinations from sitting up or standing up too quickly where its like shards of mirror snowing down my peripheral vision and refracting beautiful white or rainbow lights into me.

So theres that, the yawn taste thing, the spiritual awakening/aneurism sensation, every couple of months I get random burning sensations on my skin, like someone is stubbing a smoke out on me, I have a constant background ringing in my ears (I assume everyone has that if you listen in silence) but ofteni hear a ringing or frequency that is stronger than background, it is only ever one ear at a time, and sometimes it beeps in a random non repeating pattern. Its usually the left. The beeping sound has preluded the spiritual/aneurism experience on several occasions.

These are the reasons my housemate says brain scan.

Last MRI I had cost me a grand or two so Ive been avoiding it, but I just found out that it should be free, so Im thinking I might go and investigate.

Edited June 3, 2011 by niggles