This is a condition in which sensory input in one modality (sense) is experienced in another modality (sense).  For example a person with synaesthesia may experience sounds as smells, e.g. getting a distinct smell of sausages every time they hear the word 'armageddon' [real example] or consistently seeing numbers in different colours such that 1s might always be red and 2s blue to the synesthete. Recent research (2010) has found that babies as young as 3 or 4 months can have it so there is evidence that it is inborn rather than learnt.

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Last Updated on 28 February 2010