Summary: One out of 25,000 people has something called synesthesia. In on of its common form, graphemes, colors synesthesia, it causes people to see "black" letters or numbers in colors. Scientists have been trying to figure out what goes on inside synesthetes brains for a long time, but they're still unsure. A new study has been taking a closer look at synesthetes. This study found that average people need three times more magnetic stimulation to their visual cortex, as opposed to synesthetes, to experience phosphenes, flashes of light, or other visual disturbances. Other experiments that were conducted showed reducing the excitability of the synesthetes' visual cortexes increased their experience of colors with numbers. These and other findings in the study may allow for treatments to reduce or eliminate synesthesia.
Critique: I think that this is a very interesting study. I had never heard of synesthesia before I read this article. I hope that they continue studying it because scientists still don't know a whole lot about it. I'm not sure people with synesthesia even want to be "cured."
Impact: I'm not sure if these findings will change anything. Previous studies hinted that an overactive visual cortex contributed to it, but this study showed that when they relaxed the visual cortex, synethesia was increased. These findings may lead to treatments for synesthesia, but I think that it's still too early to tell.
Reference: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-brain-explores-collide.html
What is Synesthesia? Here's a website that talks about it more:
http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n17/mente/synaesthesia.htm
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