The enhanced connections coupled with reduced pruning may in part be attributed to the extra brain matter in key regions, as well as in forming more complex connections between different sensory brain regions. The failure to prune may be responsible to the aberrant activation of networks that should not normally co-activate. LTP is a form of synaptic plasticity, along with synaptic pruning (reduction of connections or branches) which is important in development to refine brain networks. LTP is when there is an increase in synaptic strength following persistent neural stimulation (firing of two or more neurons together). Within the medial temporal lobe, the limbic system (including the hippocampus, amygdala and the thalamus/hypothalamus) is heavily involved in the processing of memory.Ī neurophysiological process termed long-term potentiation (LTP) is also important in the consolidation of memory. In colour-hearing synesthesia, imaging studies have shown that V4/8 of the visual cortex become active upon hearing a word. Furthermore, studies have also shown an increased grey matter in the parietal cortex, and in the V4 visual cortex. grapheme-colour) there is the specific cross-activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal and the occipito-temporal cortex region.Īs these 3 regions are involved in different specific sensory and cognitive functions, the concurrent activation may lead to the simultaneous sensory experiences of two or more senses. Neuroimaging studies have revealed that in particular forms of synesthesia (e.g. However, synesthesia does seem to run in families and recent research indicates that it is associated with more than one gene. Synesthesia is not considered a disorder, nor does it lead to any cognitive impairment, nor does it present with any brain pathology. Nonetheless, many recent studies have shown that synesthetes do have better memory encoding and recall abilities with varying levels of significance compared to typical individuals. Many studies investigating the two have often focused on self-reported case studies, rather than controlled studies. It is important to note that not all studies have found significant associations between synesthesia and enhanced memory recall. Therefore the mechanisms underpinning both synaesthesia and enhanced memory in synesthesia are still being explored. Though there have been several case studies linking synesthesia to superior memory recall, it is not until fairly recently that this specific interaction has been studied in a controlled laboratory setting.Įven then, only the more common forms of synesthesia have been studied. Reading or hearing sentences enables such synesthetes to form a virtual movie, or series of vivid images in their brain that they can refer to in memory recall. This is due to the perception of colours, images and sounds being associated with specific letters, words or sounds. Other synesthetes are able to learn new languages, or lyrics or specific details very easily. Studies have shown that synesthesia is linked to the enhancement of several types of memory, specifically more detailed content of autobiographical memories, especially from childhood. It is well known that some synesthetes display exceptional memory consolidation compared to demographically matched controls. Image Credit: Notto Yeez / Shutterstock Synesthesia and Memory
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