Institute of Musicology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Department Musikhochschule, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
J Hist Neurosci. 2020 Apr-Jun;29(2):175-202. doi: 10.1080/0964704X.2019.1636348. Epub 2019 Jul 29.
Synesthesia is a rare neurological trait that causes unusual, often cross-sensory, experiences (e.g., seeing colors when listening to music). This article traces the history of synesthesia in the period 1876 to 1895. In this period, there was considerable debate over the nature of synesthesia, its causes, and how it should be named. The issue also attracted the leading thinkers of the time and, within a few years, the number of reported cases of synesthesia jumped from around ten to more than 100. For this reason, this period can be regarded as the "golden age" for synesthesia research in the nineteenth century. In this time, scientists debated whether synesthesia was a form of pathology or an alternative manifestation of intelligence. The differing roles of heredity and environment were contested, and there were several explanations proposed as to its neural basis. These enquiries went to the heart of the debate as to whether synesthetic experiences are special in any way or, instead, a more vivid manifestation of a more general capacity for forming associations.
联觉是一种罕见的神经特质，会导致异常的、通常是跨感官的体验（例如，听音乐时看到颜色）。本文追溯了 1876 年至 1895 年间联觉的历史。在这一时期，人们对联觉的本质、成因以及应该如何命名展开了激烈的争论。这个问题还吸引了当时的主要思想家，在短短几年内，报告的联觉病例从大约 10 例跃升至 100 多例。因此，这一时期可以被视为 19 世纪联觉研究的“黄金时代”。在这段时间里，科学家们争论联觉是一种病理形式还是智力的另一种表现形式。遗传和环境的作用不同，对于其神经基础也提出了几种解释。这些探究触及了争论的核心，即联觉体验是否在任何方面都是特殊的，或者它们是否只是更普遍的联想形成能力的更生动表现。
