Proving ageing effects on brain through synthesia trends: A High-School Science Fair

[Burunduk]

Hello all,

I am doing a high-school grade science fair on the effects of aging on synesthesia. Well, at least that's what it tests, but in reality, it's the other way around, almost. Synesthesia, while, indeed, being a genetic condition, is a condition of the brain. Therefore, if the brain is in bad shape, it will show on the synesthesetic experience of the aging individual. Effectively, if the overall trends for synesthesia decrease as the age group increases, the brain does, indeed degenerate as it gets older. And that is what I want to prove.

I am testing for the second most-common condition, grapheme synesthesia. It's when the brain interperates black&white symbols as being colored.

In my case, my eyes literally try to tell me that the letter e is green, even though it obviously is written in black right here. It's great fun. Also can watch songs. Have no shame in bragging about it.

I have the feeling that there are things wrong with this experiment, but I'm far too into it to change it at this stage. I do, however really, really need some participants to take the test. It's really quick and simple. Please click on the link I will provide to you below, read the accompanying instructions, and, perhaps, take the 15-second test. I'd be most grateful.

Grapheme Synthesia Test
"The purpose of my project is to prove that the brain degrades with age. I will do that by measuring the trends towards synthesia present in different age groups."​

Brief Abstract​

Synesthesia, poetically speaking is a union of the senses. It is when the brain interperates input from one sense as additional input from another. You, hear color, taste music, smell words.

"The abnormal character of synesthesia is sufficiently demonstrated by the ability of synesthetes to report nearly identical associations after the lapse of one year (achieving a 92% accuracy rate), versus a matched control group's inability to obtain a similar result after only one week (achieving a 38% accuracy rate)..."

Synesthesia and Method
Kevin B. Korb

Synesthesia is an anomaly that occurs in about 1 person out of 23. It's not imagination, no, it's a transformation information goes through in the limbic system, before it ever gets to the cerebrum. It's a “left-over” from babyhood, when your brain was not fully formed and organized; it received information from one sense and juxtaposed it with another, which, by the way, did help with your development. In some people, that trait, or some parts of, was left even after they grew up.

An example of a famous person with such a trait would be Richard Feynman. Very famous physicist of the mid-twentieth century, he was part of the team that designed and built the first atomic bomb. You probably heard of him, read his works, too, quite likely. This trait, this way in which he saw the world, might've just played a part in his genius. Why do you think we humans like metaphors so much? Why do we like describing one sense with adjectives of another? Sharp cheese, putrid color, even the phrase “I see what you're saying,” these all appeal to you because they were a part of how you saw the world when you were very young. To some, this is still the case. Synesthesia, is when the brain sub-consciously, almost on the motion level, associates one sense with another. A synesthesist might... hear colors, or see colored symbols where we would see but black and white, or he might even associate personalities with concepts such as months, letters, and notes. It's a way one experiences the world.

Thank you, I really appreciate this! :)
Burunduk

 

[Moonbear]

I haven't looked at your test yet, but do you only want people who believe they are synaesthetes to participate, or do you need "normal" controls too?

 

[ravenprp]

Dear Burunduk,

Thank you for sharing your project with us. It is very interesting to see someone exploring the effects of aging on synesthesia in a high-school science fair. Your project has the potential to shed light on the connection between the brain and synesthesia, and it is great that you are passionate about your research.

I think your hypothesis that the trends towards synesthesia will decrease with age is a valid one. As you mentioned, synesthesia is a condition of the brain, and it is possible that as the brain ages and degenerates, it may affect the synesthetic experience. Your use of the grapheme synesthesia test to measure the presence of synesthesia in different age groups is a good approach to testing your hypothesis.

However, I do have some concerns about your experiment. Firstly, it is important to consider the limitations of self-reporting in your test. People may interpret or report their synesthetic experiences differently, which could affect the accuracy of your results. Additionally, it may be helpful to have a control group of non-synesthetes to compare your results to, in order to better understand the impact of aging on synesthesia.

Overall, I think your project has great potential and I encourage you to continue researching and exploring this topic. Best of luck with your science fair!