![]() The synesthetes had one of the most common forms of the condition, which blends the perception of sound and color. Using a gene-sequencing technique known as whole-exome sequencing that targets only the DNA that encodes proteins, the researchers cataloged virtually every significant DNA variant in three families in which the condition is common.įisher obtained DNA sequences from four or five synesthetes and at least one nonsynesthete from each family, covering three generations. In the new work, a team led by neuroscientist Simon Fisher at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, decided to take a slightly different tack. ![]() But genomic investigations so far have failed to turn up individual genes that might be responsible for it. Synesthesia is thought to be at least somewhat heritable, as it frequently clusters within families. But increasingly sophisticated survey methods have allowed scientists to confirm that some people-it's unclear how many-do consistently and involuntarily experience this unusual condition. Some refused to acknowledge its existence, whereas others believed the phenomenon's individual, subjective nature made it virtually impossible to study. "It provides a fascinating suggestion of a link between particular genetic variations and hyperconnectivity in the synesthetic brain."įor decades, many psychologists and neuroscientists were reluctant to research synesthesia. "It's very exciting," says Romke Rouw, a cognitive psychologist who studies synesthesia at the University of Amsterdam but who wasn't involved in the study. Now, for the first time, scientists have identified a handful of genes that might predispose people to synesthesia, offering a window to better understand disorders such as autism, which is also thought to involve abnormal brain connections.
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