University of East London Homepage

Tasting the colours of the rainbow: UEL to host major Synaesthesia conference

Friday 4 March 2011

Tasting the colours of the rainbow

The University of East London will host this year’s UK Synaesthesia Association annual conference.

Delegates from across the world will attend the event, including renowned Psychologist and world Synaesthesia expert Edward M Hubbard from the Vanderbilt University in the United States.

Dr Hubbard will begin proceedings with a public lecture open to all on Friday March 25 at UEL’s Stratford Campus. Delegates will then meet over the following two days before the event closes on Sunday March 27.

It is the first time the University has been selected as the venue to host this event, and represents a real coup given the prominence this psychological condition has received in both specialist and mainstream media.

UEL Psychology lecturer and Synaesthesia specialist Dr Mary Spiller describes the condition - which is believed to affect 1-2 per-cent of the UK population - as “a fascinating condition”, which can be thought of as a “joining of the senses”. 

She said: “Stimulation of one sense results in an experience in another. For example, when some people hear music they also see colours, or for others, words can trigger tastes.

“It can be described as tasting shapes and hearing colours, or even hearing, smelling or tasting the colours of the rainbow. 

“The conference provides a fantastic opportunity for researchers, artists and synaesthetes to meet each other and learn about the latest scientific and artistic explorations of synaesthesia.

“The 2011 conference promises to be as varied, informative and thought provoking as ever, and we are naturally delighted to be hosting such an important event.”

Dr Hubbard’s public lecture will provide an overview of recent synaesthesia research, and will discuss how studying synaesthesia can increase our knowledge of the brain and the way it works.

The conference will also touch upon a range of diverse areas including synaesthesia in literature, music and art, as well as providing a platform for people with personal experiences of synaesthesia to describe how the condition has affected them.

Other topics will include synaesthesia and swimming (as recently covered in the New Scientist), as well as "How to teach yourself Synaesthesia", and "Synaesthesia in Japanese fiction". 

There will also be a presentation from someone who has congenital sensorioneural nerve deafness who will describe his own experience of synaesthesia, where things he sees, touches or smells trigger sounds.

Further information about the conference and registration details can be found on the UK Synaesthesia Association webpage here or by emailing synaesthesia@uel.ac.uk

For more information about synaesthesia click here 

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

Information for screenreader users:

For a general description of these pages and an explanation of how they should work with screenreading equipment please follow this link: Link to general description

For further information on this web site’s accessibility features please follow this link: Link to accessibility information