Synesthetic hallucinations induced by psychedelic drugs in a congenitally blind man.
Sara Dell'Erba, David J Brown, Michael J Proulx
Consciousness and Cognition April 1, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.02.008 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Congenitally blind individual |
| Intervention | LSD |
| Topics | LSD |
| Keywords | Congenital blindness Hallucination Psychosis Synaesthesia Synesthesia |
| Citations | 11 |
| Key findings | A congenitally blind individual experienced no visual hallucinations after LSD use, but reported novel sensory experiences in other modalities, consistent with synthetic synesthesia. |
Abstract
This case report offers rare insights into crossmodal responses to psychedelic drug use in a congenitally blind (CB) individual as a form of synthetic synesthesia. BP's personal experience provides us with a unique report on the psychological and sensory alterations induced by hallucinogenic drugs, including an account of the absence of visual hallucinations, and a compelling look at the relationship between LSD induced synesthesia and crossmodal correspondences. The hallucinatory experiences reported by BP are of particular interest in light of the observation that rates of psychosis within the CB population are extremely low. The phenomenology of the induced hallucinations suggests that experiences acquired through other means, might not give rise to "visual" experiences in the phenomenological sense, but instead gives rise to novel experiences in the other functioning senses.