Crossmodal correspondences

Abstract

For more than a century now, researchers have acknowledged the existence of crossmodal congruency effects between dimensions of sensory stimuli in the general (i.e., non-synesthetic) population. Such phenomena, known by a variety of terms including ‘crossmodal correspondences’, involve individual stimulus properties, rely on a crossmodal mapping of unisensory features, and appear to be shared by the majority of individuals. Over the last few years, a number of studies have shed light on many key aspects of crossmodal correspondences, ranging from their role in multisensory integration, their developmental trajectories, their occurrence in non-human mammals, their neural underpinning and the role of learning. I will present a brief overview of the latest findings on crossmodal correspondences, highlight standing questions and provide direction for future research.