A man began to "see" music
After the musician suffered a head injury in a motorcycle accident, something strange happened. According to a new medical report on the case, he began to "see" music and showed increased creativity for several months.
The man's brain injury (CTE) apparently caused him to have synesthesia, a rare neurological condition that results in "blending" of the senses. For example, some people with synesthesia see certain colors or shapes when they hear certain sounds.
In this case, listening to music caused him to literally see notes, as if someone had written them on music sheets. He hadn't experienced that before. The musician also had the ability to name the chords in a song just by listening to it alone. In addition, he reported that his creative abilities had peaked. The man said that he felt the need to compose music until late at night. Details of this medical case are described in the journal Neurocase.
Previously, cases of people developing synesthesia or increased creativity after brain injury have been reported, but the new case is one of the first to report both phenomena in a single patient, the report authors write. This suggests that similar neurological pathways may be involved in the two conditions, they added.