The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review
This review (2013) investigates how psychedelics (serotonin agonists) elicit synaesthesia (merging of senses) and what neurological mechanisms may underlie these effects.
Abstract
Despite the general consensus that synaesthesia emerges at an early developmental stage and is only rarely acquired during adulthood, the transient induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents has been frequently reported in research on different psychoactive substances. Nevertheless, these effects remain poorly understood and have not been systematically incorporated. Here we review the known published studies in which chemical agents were observed to elicit synaesthesia. Across studies there is consistent evidence that serotonin agonists elicit transient experiences of synaesthesia. Despite convergent results across studies, studies investigating the induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents have numerous methodological limitations and little experimental research has been conducted. Cumulatively, these studies implicate the serotonergic system in synaesthesia and have implications for the neurochemical mechanisms underlying this phenomenon but methodological limitations in this research area preclude making firm conclusions regarding whether chemical agents can induce genuine synaesthesia.
Research Summary of 'The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review'
Introduction
Synaesthesia is a condition in which a stimulus involuntarily elicits a secondary, consistent percept—for example, letters producing colour experiences. Previous work indicates a developmental and partly genetic origin for synaesthesia, with specific associations shaped by experience, and only rare reports of adult-onset cases. Nonetheless, transient synaesthesia-like phenomena have long been reported following administration of various psychoactive substances, but those observations have not been systematically synthesised and there remains uncertainty about whether chemical agents can produce genuine synaesthesia in non-synaesthetes. Luke and colleagues set out to review and integrate published studies in which chemical agents were reported to elicit synaesthesia or synaesthesia-like experiences. The review aims to characterise the types of drugs implicated, the phenomenology and prevalence of induced synaesthesias across study designs, and the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the literature, with a view to assessing whether pharmacological induction informs neurochemical theories of synaesthesia and what future research is required.
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Luke, D. P., & Terhune, D. B. (2013). The induction of synaesthesia with chemical agents: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00753
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Papers cited by this study that are also in Blossom
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Maqueda, A. E., Valle, M., Addy, P. H. et al. · International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology (2015)
Roseman, L., Leech, R., Feilding, A. et al. · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2014)
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