“Each of these conditions have different underlying neurological causes or correlations,” explains Berit Brogaard, PhD, author of The Superhuman Mind and director of the Brogaard Lab for Multisensory Research at the University of Miami. While there’s a lot we don’t know about why some people develop these abilities and others don’t, Brogaard suspects that there’s some evolutionary benefit to the traits. Read on to learn what it’s like to live with sharper-than-usual senses. “There are hundreds of thousands of colors in everything I see.“Concetta Antico, Her Super-Sense: San Diego, California Tetrachromacy To most people, a vase of white flowers looks… white. But to Concetta Antico, a tetrachromat, those white flowers are also all different shades of lilac, yellow, green, and gray. “It’s like a soft mosaic,” she explains. “I notice hundreds and often thousands of blended colors in everything I see. Even a layer of dust is multi-colored.” Tetrachromacy is a kind of enhanced “super vision” that allows people to see colors that the rest of us simply can’t. While normal color vision relies on three types of specialized cells in the eyes (known as “cones” or receptors), tetrachromats’ eyes have a fourth cone, which enables them to see far more variation in shades and hues. Only women can be tetrachromats: the fourth cone requires a combination of genes that are only possible when you have two X chromosomes. And though researchers believe that approximately 12% of women may carry the right genetic code, it’s estimated that far fewer have brains that are able to interpret the signals from that cone, which results in enhanced color vision. Although she only learned the name for her special ability a few years ago, Antico believes she developed this ability because she’s an artist and has always been obsessed with color. “I am a little OCD when it comes to color,” she admits. “I can’t just put that green with this green because for me, there are so many variations of green. So I’m very picky about choosing colors for my home, my garden, and my wardrobe. And I’m not the biggest fan of the mall where they use what I call ‘crap colors,’ because they’re very crass and bright. They’re designed to get people’s attention, and color already has my attention all the time.” Antico wouldn’t trade her tetrachromacy for the world. “I see so much beauty in color because of the endless variety,” she explains. “I don’t just wake up in the morning and get out of bed; I’m noticing the new colors of the sky, my curtains, my walls. Every day and night is like a whole new movie for me.” MORE: Ask Dr. Gupta: Why Can’t I See In The Dark? “4 is yellow, Thursday is orange. It’s just something I inherently know.“Laura Moss, Her Super-Sense: Atlanta, GeorgiaSynesthesia “My husband says my superpower is remembering where we parked in the garage,” says Laura Moss. That’s because she has what’s known as “grapheme-color synesthesia,” a type of synesthesia that makes it easy for her to remember specific letters, numbers, and days of the week and month because in her mind, they all have corresponding colors. “I could see the number 4 printed in black and I will see it as black and know it’s black on the page, but in my mind, I inherently know that 4 is yellow,” she explains. “I’m seeing it visually as everyone else does, but it’s almost like I just have this extra fact in the back of my mind.” Synesthesia is a condition of mixed sensations, where stimulating one sense (like hearing) automatically triggers an experience with another (like vision, taste, or sound). It’s like your senses have their wires crossed. There are at least eight types of synesthesia, although some researchers speculate that there may be many more. In “lexical-gustatory synesthesia,” for example, words have certain tastes, so a person may taste pancakes whenever she hears the word “cell phone.” In “chromethesia,” sounds have colors and in “spatial sequence synesthesia” numbers occupy a certain point in space. Moss only learned the name for her quirky color associations a few years ago, but she says she has always been a synesthete. “I can remember mentioning to a school friend that it was strange that every letter and number in our textbooks were printed in black instead of their real colors—her reaction was my first clue that this wasn’t something everybody noticed!” she recalls. “But my parents and teachers always commented on my active imagination, so I just assumed this was part of that.” Some people with synesthesia may feel downright uncomfortable if they associate a word or sound with a particularly ugly color or unpleasant taste, or become easily over-stimulated in highly sensory environments like the grocery store or a baseball stadium. And in some versions of the condition, people can experience colors as loud noises or the sensation of someone touching their skin, which can quickly lead to sensory overload. Moss considers herself fortunate to have a mostly benign and at times useful form of synesthesia: “It’s incredibly helpful with memory,” she explains. “If I’m struggling to recall a digit in a phone number or the day I scheduled a meeting, I’ll have an impression of blue and know the missing digit is 5, or an association with orange, which will remind me that the meeting is on Thursday.” MORE: What Brain Orgasms—And 2 More Bizarre Symptoms—Say About You “Hearing someone chew gum is like being strapped to a chair and having water repeatedly poured on my head.“Heidi SalernoHer Super-Sense: , Mill Valley, CAMisophonia At the age of 8, Heidi Salerno can remember being “unbelievably aggravated” by the sound of her family chewing their food at dinner each night. By college, she had to wear earplugs to class. “The sound of chewing, whether it’s food or gum, and pen clicking are absolute torture to me,” she explains. Feet dragging, footsteps on stairs, and basketball playing are also on her list. “During lectures at school, I would wear an ear plug in my right ear and take notes with my right hand, while keeping my left hand ready to plug my ear if someone’s pen or gum noise overwhelmed me.” Salerno continues: “I’ve been told that I’m being too sensitive and need to get over it. But to me, hearing gum-chewing feels like being strapped to a chair and having water repeatedly poured on my head. It’s impossible for me to concentrate, fall asleep, or have fun when those sounds are present, and it can make family dinners very stressful.” Misophonia is a condition in which hearing certain bursts of sound can drive the listener to rage or disgust. It’s also known as selective sound sensitivity syndrome. Chewing, lip smacking, nose blowing, sneezing, typing and pen clicking are the most common triggers. Researchers don’t fully understand what causes misophonia, or why certain people are so susceptible, but one theory is that they have an unusually strong connection between their auditory system and the part of their brain responsible for generating emotions. Unlike other super-senses, misophonia doesn’t have many redeeming qualities—although one recent study from Northwestern University has suggested that the inability to filter out background noise is linked to a high level of creativity. And Salerno, an accomplished swing dancer, can also hear music acutely: “I can dream entire symphonies and hear every instrument and every subtlety in a song,” she says, noting that while this ability is not necessarily a hallmark of misophonia, many people with the condition tend to have an affinity for music—especially loud music. “Loud sounds are wonderful. Being in a noisy environment can drown out all the sounds that are difficult for me to tolerate.” MORE: 7 Weird Body Symptoms, Solved
