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Validating a standardised test battery for synesthesia: does the Synesthesia Battery reliably detect synesthesia?

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posted on 2023-06-08, 22:42 authored by D A Carmichael, M P Down, R C Shillcock, D M Eagleman, Julia SimnerJulia Simner
Synesthesia is a neurological condition that gives rise to unusual secondary sensations (e.g., reading letters might trigger the experience of colour). Testing the consistency of these sensations over long time intervals is the behavioural gold standard assessment for detecting synesthesia (e.g., Simner, Mulvenna et al., 2006). In 2007 however, Eagleman and colleagues presented an online 'Synesthesia Battery' of tests aimed at identifying synesthesia by assessing consistency but within a single test session. This battery has been widely used but has never been previously validated against conventional long-term retesting, and with a randomly recruited sample from the general population. We recruited 2847 participants to complete The Synesthesia Battery and found the prevalence of grapheme-colour synesthesia in the general population to be 1.2%. This prevalence was in line with previous conventional prevalence estimates based on conventional long-term testing (e.g., Simner, Mulvenna et al., 2006). This reproduction of similar prevalence rates suggests that the Synesthesia Battery is indeed a valid methodology for assessing synesthesia. © 2015 The Authors.

Funding

MULTISENSE:Lifespan Development of Typical & Atypical Multisensory Perception; G1568; EUROPEAN UNION; 617678

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Consciousness and Cognition

ISSN

1053-8100

Publisher

Elsevier

Volume

33

Page range

375-385

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Synaesthesia Research Group Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-10-03

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-10-03

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-10-03

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