The School of Education news page has also released a brief announcement about the publication of the Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia. They quote from the Oxford University Press press release, stating:
Synesthesia is a fascinating phenomenon which has captured the imagination of scientists and artists alike. This inherited condition gives rise to a kind of ‘merging of the senses,’ and so for those who experience it, everyday activities like reading or listening to music trigger extraordinary impressions of colors, tastes, smells, shapes and other sensations. The Oxford Handbook of Synesthesia brings together this broad body of knowledge into one definitive state-of-the-art handbook. It includes a large number of concisely written chapters, under broader headings, which tackle questions about the origins of synesthesia, its neurological basis, its links with language and numbers, attention and perception, and with ‘normal’ sensory and linguistic processing. It asks questions about synesthesia’s role in language evolution, and presents both contemporary and historical overviews of the field.