Episode 62. Synaesthesia with Jamie Ward – Author of The Frog Who Croaked Blue

I am joined in this podcast by Jamie Ward to explore synaesthaesia as he depicted in his book titled The Frog Who Croaked Blue: Synaesthesia and the Mixing of the Senses. Jamie Ward is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, UK. His principal research interest lies in the cognitive neuroscience of synaesthesia, although he has published on many other topics, including frontal lobe function, memory and disorders of reading and spelling.

We explored the history of synaesthesia and why the scientific interest has waxed and waned over time, and how the understanding of the condition has evolved. Jamie Ward also narrated how a chance observation by neurologist Richard Cytowic at a dinner launched the scientific study of synaesthesia. We also reviewed the defining features of synaesthesia, and its familial and acquired causes. The conversation also discussed the different types of synaesthesia, and what Jamie referred to as the fringes of synaesthesia.

Other themes that the podcast reviewed are the ways by which the knowledge of synaesthesia has challenged the traditional concepts of our senses, how much control people with synaesthesia have over their experiences, and the possible evolutionary advantages of synaesthesia, such as heightened memory and creativity. We also reviewed the gaps in the scientific understanding of synaesthesia and the prospects for unravelling its complete picture .

Jamie Ward’s research uses several methods in cognitive neuroscience, including human neuropsychology, functional imaging, EEG and TMS. He is the founding editor of the journal, Cognitive Neuroscience, and is currently President of the British Association of Cognitive Neuroscience (BACN). His other books include The Student’s Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience and The Student’s Guide to Social Neuroscience.