Synesthesia Studies

Studies of this phenomenon at the University of Oxford in England have uncovered regions of human DNA that wires some people to “see" sounds or “hear” colors in ways that do not occur in the brains of non-synesthetes. Researchers took genetic samples from 196 individuals of 43 families. They found 121 individuals who exhibited the synesthetic trait of seeing a color in response to a sound:  "When I hear a violin, I see something like a rich red wine. A cello is more like honey." The team performed a genetic analysis that tracked common "markers,” specific sets of base pairs that were repeated throughout the genome and which vary from person to person. They identified a region on chromosome 2, which has been associated with autism, as exhibiting the strongest link.  Synesthesia appears to have roots in DNA as it tends to run in families, suggesting a genetic origin. It also appears to be affected by environmental factors. 

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