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| Research article summary (published 30 Oct 2002): |
Synesthetic color experiences influence memory.
Full Abstract
We describe the extraordinary memory of C, a 21-year-old student who experiences synesthetic colors (i.e., photisms) when she sees, hears, or thinks of digits. Using three matrices of 50 digits, we tested C and 7 nonsynesthetes to evaluate whether C's synesthetic photisms influence her memory for digits. One matrix consisted of black digits, whereas the other two matrices consisted of digits that were either incongruent or congruent with the colors of C's photisms. C's recall of the incongruently colored digits was considerably poorer than her recall of either the black or the congruently colored digits. The 7 nonsynesthetes did not show such differences in their recall of the matrices. In addition, when immediate recall of the black digits was compared with delayed recall of those digits (48 hr), C showed no decrease in performance, whereas each of the nonsynesthetes showed a significant decrease. These findings both demonstrate C's extraordinary memory and show that her synesthetic photisms can influence her memory for digits.
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Author information
Author/s: Smilek, Daniel (D); Dixon, Mike J (MJ); Cudahy, Cera (C); Merikle, Philip M (PM);
Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. dsmilek@watarts.uwaterloo.ca
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Psychological science : a journal of the American Psychological Society / APS (Psychol Sci), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2002-Nov; vol 13 (issue 6) : pp 548-52
Dates: Created 2002/11/14; Completed 2003/03/05; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 12430840, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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