A student has been diagnosed with a bizarre condition that causes her to taste different foods every time she hears words.
Kathryn Jackson, 22, from Nottingham, can taste carrots every time she hears the name Rory, and stuffing every time someone says ‘impossible’.
She has been diagnosed with lexical-gustatory synaesthesia, a condition that causes people to experience the smell and taste of food when they hear or see words.
Kathryn said she can’t have a conversation without being distracted by her ever-changing taste buds, with certain names causing her to taste marshmallows, apples, custard and carrots.
And the creative advertising student not only tastes the flavour of words – but can also feel their textures and smell their scent.
Kathryn, who studies at the University of Lincoln, has now set up an Instagram called ‘I-taste-words’ to portray what different words make her taste with colourful illustrations.
Kathryn Jackson, 22, from Nottingham, (pictured) has a condition called lexical-gustatory synaesthesia that causes her to taste carrots every time she hears the name Rory
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WHAT IS SYNAESTHESIA?
Synaesthesia is a condition that causes people to experience different senses at the same time.
For example, the most common type of synesthesia, colour-graphemic, causes those with the condition to associate words and numbers with colours.
Across the world, one in every 5,000 people have synesthesia, according to Boston University.
But lexical-gustatory synaesthesia is a rare form of the condition and affects less than one in 100,000 people.
James Wannerton, the president of UK Synaesthesia Association said: ‘Synaesthesia is caused by cross activation between two normally separate areas of the brain.
‘An individual with synaesthesia has extra neural connections linking these separate areas.
‘The stimulation of one sense causes an involuntary reaction in one or more of the other senses.
‘Someone with synaesthesia may for example, hear colour or see sound.’
Listening to a lecture at university, having conversations with friends and reading her favourite novel all trigger a range of tastes in Kathryn’s mouth.
Kathryn said: ‘I can taste words when I hear or see them.
‘I’ve had lexical-gustatory synaesthesia my entire life.
‘Sometimes a word sounds like a food item, which can trigger me to taste it..
‘So for example when I hear the name ‘Lola’ – I can taste lollipops.
‘The name Ella makes me taste jelly beans because ‘ella’ and ‘jella’ rhyming.
‘My friend Rory’s name makes me taste carrots, because it sound like ‘raw’ at the start which makes me think of carrots.
‘When I hear the name “Gus”, I taste custard – I guess because of “Gus” and “Cus”.’
She added it’s not only rhymes or sounds that trigger tastes in her mouth.
She can also be prompted by childhood memories.
She said: ‘My nan’s hairdresser’s name is Yvonne, so whenever I hear that name, I always taste cigarettes and smell hairspray.
Lexical-gustatory synaesthesia is a condition that causes people to experience the smell and taste of food when they hear or see words. Kathryn can taste lollipops when she hears ‘Lola’
‘Whenever I hear the name John, I can taste potatoes.
‘I think that’s because my grandad’s name is John and when I was young he used to always make me Sunday dinner.’
Synaesthesia is a condition that causes people to experience different senses at the same time.
For example, the most common type of synesthesia, colour-graphemic, causes those with the condition to associate words and numbers with colours.
Across the world, one in every 5,000 people have synesthesia, according to Boston University.
Kathyrn said whenever she hears the name John, she can taste potatoes. She believes this is because her grandfather, who was called John, used to cook her roast potatoes
But lexical-gustatory synaesthesia is a rare form of the condition and affects less than one in 100,000 people.
Kathryn sees colours when she hears numbers, but she says all of her senses are triggered and cross over.
She added: ‘Some people say my condition is weird, but when I actually talk to them about general synaesthesia, I find a lot of people realise they have it on some level.
‘Many friends have said to me they think of certain colours when they see a number.
Kathryn, who studies at the University of Lincoln, set up an Instagram called ‘I-taste-words’ to portray what different words make her taste with colourful illustrations (pictured)
Kathyrn’s drawings show how she tastes freshly baked bread when she hears the name Ben and zesty limes when she encounters the name Liam
‘Mine’s a bit more extreme as I can actually taste lingering flavours of food and things in my mouth.
‘The words that can trigger taste are either people in my life, or have an attached memories from my childhood.
‘The word impossible makes me taste stuffing, I think maybe because the end of “impossible” rhymes with stuffing “ball”.’
She added her condition can make it hard to concentrate at university.
She said: ‘When I am in a lecture, it’s really hard to concentrate because they will say a certain word and then a flavour of food will enter my mouth.
‘It’ll be so strong that I then can’t stop thinking about the word and consequently taste it for ages.
The creative student said her condition can make it hard to concentrate at university as she often gets hungry tasting words in lectures
The name Ella gives Kathryn the taste of jellybeans. She recently decided to share her story in a bid to raise awareness for the condition
‘It can make me quite hungry and can be annoying.
‘When I am reading, I can taste words even if I haven’t heard it out loud.’
She recently decided to share her story in a bid to raise awareness for the condition.
Kathryn said: ‘Once, I was reading the newspaper and I saw about a story about a fish and chip shop, I suddenly smelt fish and chips.
‘The smells can be so strong that I look around me to see if they are actually there or not.
Kathryn said rhymes, sounds and childhood memories can all trigger tastes in her mouth. She added that some names taste ‘awful’
‘I even feel food psychically in my mouth, like when I hear the word I can feel the texture of it.
‘This is something I have had since I was a little girl, but at the time I didn’t know I was different, I thought everyone else had it too.
‘When I hear what my family members have named their babies, I always abruptly question why people would name their child certain names.
‘This is because I can get some awful tastes in my mouth, but then I realise no one knows what I am talking about.
‘Although it’s very distracting, it’s not all that bad when I get to taste lollipops and cupcakes.’
Her unusual condition is caused by cross activation between two normally separate areas of the brain, according to experts