Technically speaking, the ability to taste colours is caused by a condition called synaesthesia which happens when any two of our senses cross over.
Color can be used to modify people’s perception of a taste that is already present in the mouth. For individuals in one group, which Smilek calls "projector" synesthetes, the synesthetic color can fill the printed letter or it can appear directly in front of their eyes, as if projected onto an invisible screen. Some researchers now believe it may yield valuable clues to how the brain is organized and how perception works. And this seems to be true because experts say people with the condition have much better memories than the rest of us.So for people with synaesthesia, experts believe that sometimes our brains don’t wire up correctly, leading to this ‘cross wiring’ of the senses.And then there are the rarer forms… for a few people, if they see someone being tapped on the shoulder, they can feel the tap on their own shoulder as well.The interesting thing is, all babies are born with synaesthesia, but by the time we’re four or five months old our senses have been wired up to the right bits of our brains.While some synaesthetes become aware of their unique sense of perception when they are a child, others don’t realise there’s anything unusual for quite some time, or at all.Most synaesthetes do say that the experiences are actually very pleasant or neutral, but for some – like those who can taste colours, it can be more challenging to deal with day-to-day and can at times cause sensory overload.Although synaesthesia seems to be partly genetic with people inheriting the condition from their family, it’s also thought to involve environmental factors.The funny thing about synaesthesia is that there are so many different ways it can be experienced (there are 80 types to be exact).For some, sounds such as doors opening or cars honking can trigger seeing colours, or they can also induce sensations in the body (feel the something that someone is something is touching them).If you hear a loud boom each time the tower lands, you’re not alone — but there isn’t actually any sound playing. (Synesthesia) - YouTube Other times they linger, coalescing and dividing like sunlight on the surface of a soap bubble.Stay up to date on the coronavirus outbreak by signing up to our newsletter today.When Ingrid Carey says she feels colors, she does not mean she sees red, or feels blue, or is green with envy. Easily move forward or backward to get to the perfect spot. "At present, we do not have the technology to observe brain-connection changes in the living human brain and how these relate to mental changes," Laeng said in an email interview.Smilek and colleagues have identified two groups of synesthetes among those who associate letters and numbers with colors, he explained in a telephone interview. "Especially friends who were of a very logical mindset. Ordinarily, these interconnections are not explicitly experienced, but in the brains of synesthetes, "those connections are 'unmasked' and can enter conscious awareness," said Megan Steven, a neuroscientist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.There was a problem. Find the exact moment in a TV show, movie, or music video you want to share. Posted by 3 days ago. Connections between different sensory parts of the brain exists that later become pruned or blocked as an organism matures, Mondloch explained.The synesthesia of those in the "perceptual" category is triggered by sensory stimuli like sights and sounds, whereas "conceptual" synesthetes respond to abstract concepts like time.