031 // Listening in shades of blue: how our brains process sensory information

Kathryn Exon Smith -

Why do some people see yellow when they hear a sound? How do we adjust our body-image to fit the boundaries of objects we use, like our cars? How does knowing the identity of a speaker and what their voice sounds like help us hear them better at a party?

This salon will explore how our brains process information, and how input into one sensory system can influence processing in other sensory systems. We will learn how the brains of synesthetes work, and whether multi-sensory experiences are a continuum that anyone can experience under the right circumstances.

David is an Assistant Professor in the Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience area in the Department of Psychology, where he directs the Multisensory Perception Lab. His research examines how the sensory systems (such as vision and hearing) influence one another in order to enable sensory signal recovery after brain damage or disease.

Are we all born with a talent for synaesthesia? – Shruti Ravindran | Aeon Essays
It makes letters colourised and numbers pulsate with cosmic time: a rare gift, or are we all on the synaesthetic spectrum?
AeonShruti Ravindran

This salon took place November 20, 2020.