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SOME people really may be able to see the glowing, colourful 鈥渁uras鈥� that psychics claim indicate a person鈥檚 physical and spiritual health.
That鈥檚 the conclusion of a study that suggests those who see auras may have a form of synaesthesia, a cross-sensory condition in which, for example, given letters evoke colours.
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Vilayanur Ramachandran and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, studied a man known as RF who has Asperger鈥檚 syndrome. At the age of 10, RF鈥檚 mother told him to match his emotions with colours to help him to communicate emotions.
He soon began to see the colours in his mind, and in time said he could also see different 鈥渁uras of colour鈥� around people, depending on the emotion he related to them. RF says everyone鈥檚 aura is blue until he associates a particular emotion with them.
鈥淗e says that everyone鈥檚 aura is blue until he associates a particular emotion with them鈥�
Ramachandran鈥檚 team placed a volunteer against a white background and drew an outline around her. RF said the volunteer鈥檚 aura filled the space from her body to the line. Blue or orange letters were then projected onto the background, either inside or outside the line. When the letter was blue and inside the black line, RF took twice as long to name the letter as when it was outside the line or a different colour 鈥� suggesting it had merged with the perceived blue aura.
鈥淭his pattern of performance is very hard to fake, much like when we are all slower to read the word 鈥榬ed鈥� when it is presented in green ink,鈥� says Michael Banissy at University College London. The research was presented at this week鈥檚 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.