This data shows consistency scores for grapheme-colour synaesthesia as recorded on The Synesthesia Battery website. The data also shows different kinds of savant skills/talents as recorded by participants via Qualtrics. Savant syndrome is a condition where prodigious talent co-occurs with developmental difficulties such as autism spectrum conditions (ASC). We tested three groups: people with autism who also have savant skills, people with autism without savant skills, and controls without autism. We used a validated test called the "Synesthesia Battery" to diagnose grapheme-colour synaesthesia (Eagleman, 2007). Results show a significantly higher prevalence of synaesthesia in people with ASC, but only those who also have savant skills. This suggests that synesthesia in autism is linked to those with savant abilities rather than autism per se. Three other data collections can be found under Related Resources. In this research programme we will investigate enhanced memory in synaesthesia (e.g. experiencing colours for words). Our general approach is to treat synaesthesia as a 'test case' to address other important research questions. For instance, we consider how synaesthesia can inform general theories of memory. Importantly, not all aspects of memory are enhanced in synaesthesia and this can provide insights into how the memory system is structured. Indeed it is not trivially the case that material that elicits 'extra' sensations are better remembered: some material that does not evoke extra sensations (such as abstract figures) are also better remembered by synaesthetes. We suggest that synaesthetes have widespread changes in their perceptual systems (including but not limited to their extra experiences) and that systems supporting perception can also be engaged in memory. We will use both standard and bespoke tests of memory to explore which aspects of memory are enhanced and we will explore how individual differences in perception (in non-synaesthetes) may relate to performance on certain memory tasks.

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