The Mena weekly star., 1911-08-31
CAUSE OF DELUs|ONS
New Disease Mixes Sounds, Col
 ITS, 0dors and Tastes.
Physicians Now Recognize Condition Which Probably Accounts for Hal iucinations of lnsane-It Ia
 Called Synesthesla.

New York.-Physicians now recog nize a condition which probably ac, counts for the hallucinations and delu- sions of the insane It is called syn. esthesia, and those afflicted with it are known as synesthesics. It is that peculiar condition in which sounds ere. ate the idea of colors, and vice versa, or in which colors, tastes, sounds and odors are confused.
 Synesthesia is not a matter of much practical importance" says American Medicine, but 1t is highly Interesting to say the least. It Is that curious phenomenon of the overflow of sensations so that air waves. for in- stance, give a sensation of color as well as sound It seems that through some defect of development the corti. cal centers (of the brain) are not in- sulated from each other completely. SO that stimulus received from the re- una say, Is not confined to the visual centers, but affects adjoining ganglia.
 The commonest form is colored neai~g, and most of the cases of synesthesia investigated up to a few years ago were of this type No two were alike, that is, the same sound would cause different colors or shad- ings in the different cases; a locomo- tive whistle would be yellow to one. or white to another, and 80 on
 Moreover, in some cases only a few sounds are colored, such as the tones of plano from black in the bass to white in the upper keys with a spec trum In between. In other cases every sound has a light sensation added to 1t. Then there are cases in which col ors or odors give sound sensations- glaring colors being loud, literally as well as fguratively. and, of course, there must be an infinite variety or mixtures of the other sensations.
 The most distressing cases are those In which there is no actual confusion Of sensations, so that odors and tastes and sounds are not differentiated No doubt these abnormalities are at the basis of many delusions and hallucina. uons of the insane.
 The nervous instability of synesthe- sics Is the practical side of this sub. 1ect Without an exception, the cases present evidences indicating consider able nervous involvement in the may of abnormal development. Some if not most of them are highly intelli. gent, though incapable of that hard work necessary for success, and all are very sensitive to irritations which the average man ignores.
 Perhaps the condition is far from common than we imagine, and 1t would be well to keep it in mind in the treat ment of neurasthenics. We might find that they are great sufferers from jar ring sensations. not in the way usually thought of. but in these overfiows to other centers. normal woman may be made actually i'll by garish colors or coarsely arranged music, and we all know the bad effects of certain tastes and colors; how much more suf- fering these must be in synesthesics where the irritant affects more than one center.
 "Of course the cases are so few fin number that the general practitioner rarely If ever sees them, but he is H. able to have milder borderland types In which little attention to aesthetics may make all the difference between success and failure in treatment"