联觉的大脑网络激活

Network of Brain Areas involved in Synaesthesia

近年认知神经心理学家利用神经成像技术对联觉进行了大脑激活情况研究,通过以颜色联觉为主的研究成果的对比与分析,发现联觉伴随体验的大脑激活不局限于特定区域(比如V4或顶叶区域),而是涉及一个大脑区域网络(大脑的6个区域被激活),这个大脑区域网络与联觉的三个不同加工过程相关联。同时通过对造成大脑结构差异的遗传基因研究进行总结与分析,发现找到的几个备选基因都是大脑中影响连接发展的基因,据此推测决定联觉的基因可能在大脑中影响连接发展的那些基因中(至少部分)找到。

In recent years,many neuropsychologists have studied synaesthesia in whole brain. From these studies we find that synaesthetic colour experience in color synaesthesia can activate V4,but is not necessarily restricted to V4. Rather it involves a network of brain areas( six brain locations activated). Similarly,in other types of synaesthesia,networks of brain areas are involved. Some evidences have showed that synaesthetes have increased grey matter or white matter in area V4 or other areas,which implies that there are structural differences of brain and genetic differences between synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes. Much work to look for the genes that determine synaesthesia is still going on,yet some studies have showed that genetic basis may be found in genes which influence the development of connectivity in the brain,such as TBR1.These phenomena still need to be tested in the future.