Document Detail


Unconscious priming eliminates automatic binding of colour and alphanumeric form in synaesthesia.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  11279495     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Synaesthesia is an unusual perceptual phenomenon in which events in one sensory modality induce vivid sensations in another. Individuals may 'taste' shapes, 'hear' colours, or 'feel' sounds. Synaesthesia was first described over a century ago, but little is known about its underlying causes or its effects on cognition. Most reports have been anecdotal or have focused on isolated unusual cases. Here we report an investigation of 15 individuals with colour-graphemic synaesthesia, each of whom experiences idiosyncratic but highly consistent colours for letters and digits. Using a colour-form interference paradigm, we show that induced synaesthetic experiences cannot be consciously suppressed even when detrimental to task performance. In contrast, if letters and digits are presented briefly and masked, so that they are processed but unavailable for overt report, the synaesthesia is eliminated. These results show that synaesthetic experiences can be prevented despite substantial processing of the sensory stimuli that otherwise trigger them. We conclude that automatic binding of colour and alphanumeric form in synaesthesia arises after initial processes of letter and digit recognition are complete.
Authors:
J B Mattingley; A N Rich; G Yelland; J L Bradshaw
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Nature     Volume:  410     ISSN:  0028-0836     ISO Abbreviation:  Nature     Publication Date:  2001 Mar 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2001-03-30     Completed Date:  2002-03-21     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0410462     Medline TA:  Nature     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  580-2     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
School of Behavioural Science, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. j.mattingley@psych.unimelb.edu.au
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Color Perception / physiology*
Color Vision Defects / physiopathology*
Female
Form Perception / physiology*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Reading
Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
Nature. 2001 Mar 29;410(6828):533-4   [PMID:  11279476 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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