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Synesthesia

Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia, plural synesthesiae) is a neurological condition in which two or more bodily senses are coupled. In a form of synesthesia known as grapheme to color synesthesia, letters or numbers may be perceived as inherently colored, while in ordinal linguistic personification, numbers, days of the week and months of the year evoke personalities. Many people with synesthesia use their experiences to aid in their creative process, and many non-synesthetes have attempted to create works of art that may capture what it is like to experience synesthesia. Psychologists and neuroscientists study synesthesia not only for its inherent interest, but also for the insights it may give into cognitive and perceptual processes that occur in everyone, synesthete and non-synesthete alike.

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Mind & Brain News

April 10, 2026

Alzheimer’s isn’t just one problem—it’s a tangled mix of biology, aging, and overall health. That’s why drugs targeting a single factor have fallen short, even as new treatments show modest benefits. Scientists are now pushing toward ...
A hidden waste-removal pathway in the brain has finally been caught in action. Using cutting-edge MRI scans, researchers discovered that fluid flows along the middle meningeal artery in a slow, lymphatic-like pattern—very different from blood. ...
Scientists are uncovering a surprising connection between autism and ADHD that goes deeper than labels. Instead of diagnoses, it’s the severity of autism-like traits that seems to shape how the brain is wired—even in children who don’t ...
A new study reveals that gut bacteria may play a key role in triggering ALS and frontotemporal dementia. Harmful sugars produced by these microbes can spark immune responses that damage the brain. This breakthrough explains why some genetically ...
Scientists have uncovered a surprising new player in Alzheimer’s disease: a protein called CSE that helps produce tiny amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas in the brain. In experiments with genetically ...
A new survey reveals a striking disconnect in how Americans think about autism research. While nearly everyone agrees that studying the autistic brain is essential, most people are unaware that brain donation after death is a key part of making that ...
Researchers have developed a cutting-edge technique that uses RNA “barcodes” to map how neurons connect, capturing thousands of links with single-synapse precision. The method transforms brain ...
Vitamin D levels in midlife may play a bigger role in long-term brain health than previously thought. In a study following nearly 800 people over 16 years, those with higher vitamin D levels in their 30s and 40s had lower levels of tau protein later ...
Scientists at Oregon State University have captured something researchers have long struggled to see: the real-time chemical interactions that help drive Alzheimer’s disease. By watching how metal ions—especially copper—trigger harmful protein ...
Scientists have finally uncovered the missing link in how our bodies absorb queuosine, a rare micronutrient crucial for brain health, memory, stress response, and cancer defense. For decades, ...
A single week of intensive meditation and mind-body practices led to measurable changes across the brain and body. Researchers observed improved brain efficiency, boosted immune signaling, and increased natural pain relief chemicals in ...
Your brain’s “stop eating” signal may come from an unexpected source. Researchers found that astrocytes—once thought to just support neurons—actually play a key role in controlling appetite. After a meal, glucose triggers tanycytes, which ...

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