The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands has pulled together a team of world leading synesthesia and genetics researchers to undertake a large scale study that seeks to find the synesthete gene.

For the first phase of things, they are looking for approximately 2000 grapheme-colour synesthetes (those who experience coloured letters, numbers, days, and/or months). Travel is not necessary - participants can be located anywhere in the world. If interested, you’ll be asked to anonymously provide a saliva sample for DNA testing.

Previous research has determined that synesthesia runs in families, and the goal with this study is to learn more about its genetic basis.

For more information and to participate, please go to: www.mpi.nl/synaesthesia

Having checked it out, it’s a study that we highly endorse and recommend participation in due to the caliber of the researchers and the extraordinary potential of its findings.

Best regards,

Greg Jarvis
Canadian Synesthesia Association