Intersensoriality is part of the more general problem of musical meaning: How does sound relate to something outside of the world of sound? If we distinguish the “form” of sound from its “matter,” the discussion can then be divided into two parts. First, how can sound forms (shapes, profiles) suggest other temporal forms, such as movement? The hypothesis developed here is that sensorimotor experience is generalized to furnish a base, in successive layers, for identifying suggested movements that are more and more abstract.

The authors describe a practical method for assessing personal profiles of color:word, color:taste, color:music and color:odor synesthesia. The Netherlands Color Synesthesia (NeCoSyn) method is based on the Swedish Natural Color System and the test of genuineness for colored-word synesthesia developed by Baron-Cohen et al. The NeCoSyn method has been tested scientifically and shown to reliably distinguish different types of color synesthesia. It provides individual profiles of color synesthesia in the dimensions of hue, chroma and blackness.

Decon is short for decontamination (e.g. stripdown and washdown in response to anthrax scares, etc.), but the term “decon” is also a short form for “deconstruction” (literary criticism asserting multiple conflicting interpretations of philosophical, political or social implications rather than an author's intention).