Ticker-tape synaesthesia – when real life comes with subtitles

A rare variation of the phenomenon in which people's senses are intermingled involves the mind's eye seeing speech in captions. Scientists believe the condition arises from excessive neural connectivity and stimulation

Imagine having a conversation with someone and seeing each word they use appear before your eyes like subtitles in a film, or even as speech bubbles near the speaker's mouth. Now, picture trying to read a book on a crowded train, only to have the sentences spoken around you intrude on your vision, as if they were printed right in front of your eyes. Or, even more intriguing, seeing your own thoughts written out in your mind's eye. This is the everyday experience of those living with ticker-tape synaesthesia.

When you and I talk, everything you say appears as written words in my mind," says Francois Le Chevalier, 73, over Zoom. It's just like when I am reading - sometimes the words appear handwritten, other times typewritten, and occasionally even in bold."