The Neural Basis of Number-Color Synesthesia

通感是一种令人着迷的状态，其中刺激一种感觉通道导致另一种通道的体验。例如，当被呈现音乐音调时，一些人报告说除了听到这些音调外，还看到了颜色。对通感流行率的估计从1/20(Galton，1880/1997)到1/20,000(Cytoic，；Cytoic，1997)不等。我们将使用知觉实验和功能磁共振成像(FMRI)相结合的方法来探索通感的神经基础。我们认为，数字-颜色联觉是梭形回参与数字形式加工的区域(Richard，Romero，Basso，Wharton，Flitman，&Grafman，2000；Pesenti，Thioux，Seron&de Vold，2000)和梭形回内部更多与颜色加工有关的区域(Lueck，Zeki，Friston，Deiber，Cope，Cunningham，Lammertsma，Kennard&Frackowiak，1989；Zeki&Marini，1998)之间神经“错误连接”的结果。如果这一假说得到证实，它将为神经错误连接假说的存在提供证据，并可能导致进一步研究其他形式的联觉，包括音色联觉和格莱顿(1880/1997)的“数字形式”。

Synesthesia is a fascinating condition in which stimulation of one sensory modality causes experiences in a second modality. For example, when presented with musical tones, some people report seeing colors in addition to hearing those tones. Estimates of the prevalence of synesthesia range from 1 in 20 (Galton, 1880/1997) to 1 in 20,000 (Cytowic, 1989; Cytowic, 1997). We will use a combination of perceptual experiments and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore the neural basis of synesthesia. We propose that number-color synesthesia is a result of neural "miswiring" between areas of the fusiform gyrus involved with number-form processing (Richard, Romero, Basso, Wharton, Flitman, & Grafman, 2000; Pesenti, Thioux, Seron & De Volder, 2000) and more interior areas of the fusiform gyrus considered to be involved with processing of color (Lueck, Zeki, Friston, Deiber, Cope, Cunningham, Lammertsma, Kennard & Frackowiak, 1989; Zeki & Marini, 1998). Should this hypothesis be borne out, it would provide an existence proof of the neural miswiring hypothesis and could lead to further studies investigating other forms of synesthesia, including tone-color synesthesia and Glaton's (1880/1997) "number-forms."