The Neural Basis of Number-Color Synesthesia

联觉是一种令人着迷的状态，其中一种感觉模态的刺激会引起另一种感觉模态的体验。例如，当呈现音乐音调时，一些人报告说除了听到这些音调外，还看到了颜色。对通感患病率的估计范围从1 / 20 （Galton, 1880/1997）到1 / 20,000 （Cytowic, 1989; Cytowic, 1997）。我们将结合知觉实验和功能磁共振成像（fMRI）来探索联觉的神经基础。我们提出，数字-颜色联感是梭状回参与数字-形状处理的区域（Richard, Romero, Basso, Wharton, Flitman, & Grafman, 2000; Pesenti, Thioux, Seron & De Volder, 2000）与梭状回更多被认为参与颜色处理的内部区域（Lueck, Zeki, Friston, Deiber, Cope, Cunningham, Lammertsma, Kennard & Frackowiak, 1989; Zeki & Marini, 1998）之间神经“错误连接”的结果。如果这一假设得到证实，它将为神经错误连接假说提供一个存在的证据，并可能导致对其他形式的联觉的进一步研究，包括音调-颜色联觉和格莱顿（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."