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| Written by abc.net.au | |||
| Thursday, 03 March 2005 11:05 | |||
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A musician with a unique form of synaesthesia hears music and experiences tastes like low-fat cream and mown grass, scientists say.
University of Zurich neuropsychologists were so intrigued by this neurological mixing of senses that they studied her for a year. The unique abilities of this 27-year-old Swiss professional musician are outlined today in the journal Nature. 
Synaesthates more commonly see letters, digits or musical tones in a certain colour. But this musician is unusual as she senses different tastes depending on the intervals between notes. So, a symphony could be bittersweet, salty, sour or creamy. "She doesn't imagine the taste, she really tastes it," says co-author Dr Michaela Esslen. A tone interval of a minor second induces sourness, while a major second leaves a bitter taste. A minor third is salty, while a major third is sweet. Other tastes, according to the tone, are of pure water, cream (either full or low-fat, depending on the note), disgust and mown grass. She also sees colours when she hears a note, a more common form of synaesthesia. For instance, an F sharp makes her see violet and a C is red. Testing taste To provide an objective test of her taste sensations, the scientists applied one of four different-tasting solutions (sour, bitter, salty and sweet) to her tongue. They then asked her to press a button on a computer keyboard corresponding to four relevant tones. She responded with perfect accuracy and much faster than five musicians, recruited for the same test, who do not have her synaesthesic gifts. Her "extraordinary" synaesthesia has probably been a boon in her career by attuning her to the right pitch, the researchers say.
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