Richard E. Cytowic is best known for rediscovering synesthesia in 1980 and returning it to the scientific mainstream where it is now seen as crucial to basic theories of how the brain works.

A Pulitzer Prize nominee for his James Brady cover story for the New York Times Magazine, Dr. Cytowic’s writings range from textbooks and music reviews to his Love Doctor essays. Brief medical biographies of Anton Chekhov and Maurice Ravel typify his bridging of science and art.

Dr. Cytowic’s work is the subject
of numerous documentaries.

Read from the new book, “Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia”

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Oliver Sacks says: “Twenty years ago, synesthesia—the automatic conjoining of two or more senses—was regarded by scientists (if at all) as a rare curiosity. We now know that perhaps one person in twenty is synesthetic, and so we must regard it as an essential, and fascinating, part of the human experience. Indeed, it may well be the basis and inspiration for much of human imagination and metaphor. No one has done more than Richard Cytowic and David Eagleman to bring a careful neuroscientific attention to synesthesia, grounded in decades of research and reports from thousands of patients. Their work has changed the way we think of the human brain, and Wednesday Is Indigo Blue is a unique and indispensable guide for anyone interested in how we perceive the world.”

Neurologist — Author