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What Is Synesthesia? 5 Common Types Explained

Tap a type to see a detailed explanation.

Grapheme-Color Synesthesia

The most common type β€” a specific letter or number consistently evokes the same color every time it's seen. For example, the number "3" might always feel blue.

Chromesthesia (Sound-Color)

Hearing music or sound triggers a specific color or visual shape; some musicians have even drawn on this experience in composing music.

Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia

A very rare type in which hearing or reading a specific word triggers a specific taste in the mouth.

Spatial-Sequence Synesthesia

Sequential concepts β€” numbers, days of the week, months β€” are automatically perceived as occupying specific locations in mental space.

Mirror-Touch Synesthesia

Simply seeing someone else being touched triggers the actual physical sensation of that touch on one's own body.

What exactly is synesthesia?

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which one sensory stimulus automatically triggers an experience in another sense as well. It is not considered a disorder but an innate feature of certain brains, and is estimated to occur in some form in about 2–4% of the population.

Artists and synesthesia

Several artists β€” including composer Franz Liszt and painter Wassily Kandinsky β€” are known to have experienced synesthesia, and it is thought to have influenced their distinctively original body of work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is synesthesia a condition that needs to be treated?

No β€” synesthesia is considered an innate neurological trait rather than a disorder, and in most cases it does not interfere with everyday life.

Can synesthesia develop later in life?

It is mostly present from birth, though in very rare cases it has been reported to emerge later in life, following certain medications or sensory loss.